Kentucky has always been a state known for its basketball greatness and thoroughbred tradition. This past weekend, however, the likes of Adolph Rupp and Secretariat gave way to Johnny Owens and the Duke Blue Devils.
After not having received an invitation from the previously scheduled Carpet Capital Classic, the men's golf team took a quick turn and headed into the Bluegrass State on Friday looking for redemption. When the Blue Devils emerged from the Johnny Owens Invitational on Saturday, the team had nothing in its hands but gold.
"It was a really good win for us," head coach Rod Myers said. "We were real pleased with the finish. The tournament was setup at the spur of the moment due to a scheduling conflict. It was very fortunate that we were able to play. We took a real negative and turned it into a positive."
Fortunately for Duke, the tournament was able to shift around its alignment just enough to make room for the late arrival of the Blue Devils. Duke headed into the tournament feeling that it was the team to beat, given the talent and ability of the other teams in the field. Even with the confidence that goes along with being the best, the Blue Devils needed strong play on the final two trips around the Kearney Hills Golf Links layout to preserve the victory.
"The field was not nearly as strong as the Capital, so it gave us a good opportunity to show the others what we had," Myers said. "It was a little different kind of pressure in that we went in feeling like we should win. We thought we were the best team, and we took it as a challenge to go in there and win."
The team laced up its spikes Friday morning and headed into the cold and wet Kentucky springtime weather. The Blue Devils felt that a couple of 296s would put them in good shape going into Saturday's final round. When the second day was done, Duke had bettered its goal by three strokes. The only bad part was that Purdue and Louisville had done the same thing, but only better.
The number of strokes that separated the Blue Devils from the first place Cardinals was limited to only 10 due to the strong play of junior Jason Buha and senior Joe Ogilvie. Their respective scores of 142 and 146, highlighted by Buha's second-round 69, placed each player in the top three. Their rounds, along with sophomore Chris Schmid's second-round 73, left Duke within striking distance.
The Blue Devils began to chip away at the gap in Saturday's finale, once again behind Buha and Ogilvie. This time, however, junior Eric Bertrand supplied the support from the four spot, as he ended the day with a sorely needed 73. When senior Justin Klein's 78 was added into the mix, the Blue Devils finished the tournament with an 885 total, good enough for first place.
They were not alone, however.
The Boilermakers had played well enough, mainly due to individual champion Rob Johnson's 68, to pull even with Duke at the top. As in all sports, some team has to win, and some team has to lose. For this tournament, the tiebreaker was the score of the number five golfer. Schmid managed to get around the course in 80, while Purdue's fifth man shot 81. The Blue Devils left victorious, while Purdue headed home to West Lafayette carrying the silver.
"This was a good win, but we need to feed on it," Myers said. "We realized that we won't win just by showing up, and that all five guys must hang in there. It worked out as a positive thing."
Before the Blue Devils reach the NCAA Tournament, the team must tackle an extremely elite field this weekend at the Ping Classic. Going in, Duke will be in the bottom of the field in terms of record and rankings. But the tournament will give the Blue Devils a chance to see where they are in relation to the Oklahoma States and Arizonas of the collegiate golfing world.
"We will probably be right around tenth of the 12-team field going in," Myers said. "Hopefully we'll respond well and see how we stack up against the best. It will be a hell of a test."
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