After two rounds of play, things weren't looking good for the men's golf team. On its own course and in its own tournament, Duke was in 13th place in a field of 15.
But yesterday morning the Blue Devils came back, as three of Duke's five starters shot their tournament lows in the final round. The team fired the round's fifth-best score (290) to jump into ninth place, edging out ACC rivals Wake Forest and Maryland.
Thirteenth-ranked North Carolina successfully defended its Duke Classic Title, using a final-round 282 to make up a six-stroke deficit and surpass Northwestern and No. 5 Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels finished 26 strokes ahead of Duke (302-298-290-890).
Although still a disappointing finish, the Blue Devils definitely saved themselves from potential disaster.
"Last year this tournament really put us into the hole for the rest of the year," said Paul Tucker of last year's 14th-place finish. "I think jumping up four spots [yesterday] really did avert disaster. If we finished where we were after two rounds on our own course, we would have put ourselves in the hole again."
Kyle Elfers led Duke with a three-round score of four-over par, placing him in a tie for 18th place. He struggled in the
Tucker was one of the biggest forces behind Duke's resurgence yesterday, firing a 69 in the final round-the second-lowest score all tournament. He finished five-over par and in 28th place.
"I came into [the final round] really focused," Tucker said. "I was able to concentrate on all my shots. I think I drove the ball really well all day and I didn't miss any putts that I should have made."
As a whole, however, Duke struggled with putting, especially in the first two rounds. As the course was prepared for the tournament, the greens were made smoother and faster than they had been all year, and the Blue Devils had troubles adjusting. Duke made mistakes on some of the courses easier holes, and as a result, it failed to notch many birdies.
"I was surprised by [our struggles]," Tucker said. "Everyone had been playing well and we had high expectations. Then we get out there on our course and all five guys are not playing well. I think bad play kind of feeds through teams. Going in I thought we had a legitimate shot of finishing in the top three, but we didn't live up to that."
Marc Chatelain began the tournament Sunday with consecutive double bogeys, but recovered nicely. In the final round, Chatelain hit 16 greens in regulation and shot a 73, moving him into a tie for 38th place at eight-over par. Mike Christensen started solidly with a first-round score of 74, but fell off his pace and finished at nine-over par. Chris Harris struggled for most of the weekend, finishing in 58th place with a 14-over-par performance. Considered one of the team's better putters, he three-putted four times in yesterday's round.
Duke's bench showed potential as it heads into the spring season, with two Blue Devils playing as individuals finishing in the top 33. Brandon LaCroix finished tied for 30th place with a six-over par. Senior Seth Huffstetler finished one stroke behind his freshman teammate, tying him for 33rd place.
This was a big tournament for Duke in terms of postseason play, as all but three teams in the Classic are members of the Blue Devils' district, which determines who is invited to the NCAA Tournament in the spring.
"This is probably the strongest field we'll play all year, other than a tournament with all ACC teams," coach Rod Myers said. "When it comes down to it, we had a head-to-head matchup with all 14 teams."
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