This weekend the men's golf team officially ended a season that, for all intents and purposes, was over back in the fall.
Knowing they wouldn't qualify for the NCAA Regional, the Blue Devils traveled to Spartanburg, S.C., and finished fourth at the Wofford Invitational. Sophomore Mike Christensen (fifth place overall) and freshman Paul Tucker (ninth place) led the way for Duke, firing three-round scores of four and three under par, respectively.
The Blue Devils started off slowly in the first round, a trend that has plagued them all season, and headed to the clubhouse tied for sixth place. In the second round, however, Christensen and Tucker each shot a 69, pacing Duke to the second-best score of the day (283).
"We had to play 36 holes on Friday," Tucker said. "When you have to play two rounds in a day, you're not as aggressive starting off, knowing that you're going to be there all day."
Although Duke was in contention on the final day of play, it could not make up any more ground, even with another 69 from Christensen. The Blue Devils picked up five strokes on eventual champion Augusta State, but their deficit after two rounds was too much to overcome.
Senior Chris Schmid, playing in his last collegiate tournament, shot a 76 in the first round, but came back with a 72 and 71. Kyle Elfers and Marc Chatelain struggled all weekend, shooting a combined 13 over par.
"It's kind of fitting the way this tournament ended-finishing fourth," Christensen said. "We had a chance to contend for the title, but we just didn't play well enough."
For the Blue Devils, that's how it was for most of the season.
In seven spring tournaments, the Blue Devils finished in fourth place four times. A fourth-place finish (ahead of conference rivals N.C. State, Virginia and Clemson) at the BellSouth Yellow Pages Intercollegiate Tournament kept Duke in contention for a spot in the NCAA Regional, but at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last week, the Blue Devils needed to top either Wake Forest or Virginia to have a shot at the Regional. Instead, they finished eighth, dashing all hopes of an NCAA bid.
"It's disappointing for sure," Christensen said. "I had a goal to make Regional all four years I am here. We did it last year, but I guess sometimes you have to readjust your goals."
Duke never found a golfer to replace All-American Jason Buha and throughout the year the Blue Devils lacked the presence of a player who could consistently shoot below 70.
Troubles in the fall season placed the Blue Devils in a hole early on and they would have needed a tremendous spring to qualify for the Regional. Eight teams qualify from each district, and the fall season left Duke in 15th place.
In its five fall tournaments, Duke frequently finished in the middle of the pack or even at the bottom rung of the competition. The first tournament of the spring was no better, as Duke finished 15th in a 15-team field at the Puerto Rico Invite.
"Anytime you start poorly, you put a lot of pressure on the rest of the season," Tucker said. "We played well in the spring, but in the fall we dug a hole so deep it's tough to get out of."
The dismal start practically eliminated the Blue Devils from contention in a district which includes all of the ACC and a few other powers.
"We're in the hardest district, by far," Christensen said. "Wake Forest, a historically great golf school, barely made the Regional, so that shows just how good the district is."
Still, Duke feels confident it can compete with the best, and is looking forward to next year. The Blue Devils only lose Schmid and will add a strong recruiting class.
"We had a young team this year," Tucker said. "We bring back a lot of solid players and if we all play up to our capabilities, we could be a top-10 team."
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