The Blue Devils entered the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships this past weekend hoping to follow up on the women's team's victorious performance of a week ago. After two days, it appeared that Duke might just pull off the repeat, but a final-round 293 combined with a strong finish by archrival North Carolina caused the Blue Devils to slip back into seventh place, 16 strokes behind the first-place Tar Heels.
Heading into the ACC Championships, Duke was considered to be somewhere in the middle of the pack of a conference filled with quality performers. The top two Blue Devils, senior Joe Ogilvie and junior Jason Buha, led a squad that was somewhat questionable in the bottom slots. Sophomore Chris Schmid had solidified the fourth spot with his play this spring, but the fifth, which was usually occupied by junior Eric Bertrand, was won in a playoff by sophomore Todd Hill. Coming in, Hill had only two prior tournaments of experience this year, with both coming in the fall season.
Friday's opening round 290 ended up being the best round shot by the Blue Devils the entire weekend. The score left the team tied for second place with North Carolina, only three shots behind frontrunner Florida State. The Blue Devils were led by Buha's 71, which bettered his team-leading spring average of 72.6 strokes. Ogilvie, Hill and senior Justin Klein all finished the day with solid, one-over par 73s. Nobody in the field, however, was even near the Seminole's Richard Fulford, who started the tournament with a bang by tying the course record of 66.
"We were real pleased with our position after the first day," head coach Rod Myers said. "Joe wasn't real happy with his round and felt that he could have done better, but overall as a team we felt we were in good shape."
The second day offered more of the same for Duke, as the team was able to stay consistent, but unable to produce any sub-par rounds. Ogilvie was again near the top with a 71. Following him were Schmid, who came in with a 73, and Buha, who finished at 145 after two days. However, the Blue Devils' score paled in comparison to the even par 284 that was shot by the Tar Heels. It marked the second lowest team round of the tournament, a score which was bettered only by Clemson's final-round 281. The second round saw Duke go from a team in contention to a team needing a slight miracle for victory.
"Heading into Sunday's round, we were just hoping for a couple low rounds," Myers said. "We felt that maybe, if we shot a four under and North Carolina struggled, that we might have a chance."
As it turned out, the Blue Devils would have had to have shot seven under just to put themselves into a tie at the top. Ogilvie, Buha and Klein again produced solid rounds, but the team had to count a 77, which severely hurt any chances. Only three shots separated a fourth and seventh-place finish. For the tournament, Ogilvie ended his final ACC Championship in a tie for third place at 214, and Buha was not far behind at 218, good enough for a 14th-place finish.
"There were four teams in there tight, and we were just at the wrong end," Myers said. "We were frustrated that we didn't finish better, but a positive is that it was the most consistent we have played this season."
Also adding to the Blue Devils frustration was the difficult Old North State Club layout, which tested the players with probably the most difficult greens they have seen all season.
"Probably the biggest difference was that we didn't putt as well as we were capable of," Myers said. "The greens were in outstanding shape, but they were very fast and undulating. Joe hit a lot of shots in close the final day, but he had a lot of big breaking putts. He wasn't able to make his share of birdies."
Next up for Duke will be the Palmetto Invitational in Charleston, S.C., next weekend. Everything the Blue Devils do from here on out will be in preparation for the NCAA Regionals in New York in early May.
"Hopefully we secured a spot in the Regionals with our play up until now," Myers said. "The selection committee said that our chances are pretty good after this tournament. I still look at our play as a positive experience and I think our team is still getting better."
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