Once again, mother nature reared her ugly head on the Blue Devils.
For the second time in as many chances the men's golf team was unable to finish what it started, as the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C., was shortened due to rain this past weekend. For the Blue Devils, the absence of a completed final round on Saturday could have meant the difference between a fifth and fourth-place finish.
The tournament got underway Friday amidst adverse conditions. The Blue Devils were able to survive the early-morning winds to finish at 299, 11-over par. Senior All-American Joe Ogilvie led the way for Duke, shooting an even par 72. Close behind Ogilvie were senior Justin Klein and junior Jason Buha with rounds of 74 and 76, respectively.
The second tour around the links in the afternoon offered more of the same, only at a higher level. Several players had to be pulled from the course due to stormy conditions, only to return shortly to complete the 18 before dark. The weather was reflected in the scores as Buha's round of 72 bested sophomore Chris Schmid by four shots. Duke's total score of 304 left it at 603 heading into the final round.
On Saturday, it appeared that the Blue Devils were going to put on a top-notch performance. As the round progressed and the strokes began to pile up, the margin between Duke and its nearest competitors began to increase. When it was all finished, the Blue Devils had finished with a four-under 284, 15 strokes better than it's opening round.
Unfortunately for Duke, the weather didn't cooperate as several teams couldn't finish due to the storm. So the final round did not count .This left the team in question as to where it could have finished if the tournament had been completed as planned.
"It was kind of disappointing the final day because we played well," coach Rod Myers said. "Heading into the final round there was a big spread between third and fourth place. We beat the teams that we were playing with by over 20 shots.
"It's disappointing because we knew that we could have finished fourth, instead of tied for fifth. But on the other hand, it's also encouraging because we know that we played well and had a good final round."
In addition to the team's results, Wofford gave Buha a chance to extend his solid spring season. Heading into the Invitational he was leading the team with a 72.4 stroke average. His 148 total and 14th-place finish left him in the top spot for the third time in three starts this spring for Duke. According to Myers, the strong play hasn't really been a surprise to him.
"I have expected Jason to play well," Myers said. "He showed signs in the summertime and had a decent fall. I don't know if I expected him to be having better tournaments than Joe, but in [Joe's] case it's just a matter of having one bad round."
The team will hope to build off it's experience in South Carolina and attempt to gain more consistency as it heads into the stretch drive towards the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.
"It was a pretty solid tournament overall for us," Myers said. "We played fairly well both rounds. I was encouraged by our play the final day. We still have a mediocre round keeping us from a top-three finish. We just need more consistency from all our guys."
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