The top-ranked women's golf team, which had steamrolled through its first three tournaments of the year, could not overcome its shaky start this weekend at the Mercedes-Benz Women's Golf Championship and failed to win a tournament for the first time this year.
"We're a little disappointed," said coach Dan Brooks. "I was not so disappointed by... not winning, and I was certainly not disappointed by the team's effort-they worked hard.
"But we were all disappointed with the team's performance."
Despite shooting a 299 Sunday, the lowest final-round score, the Blue Devils had to settle for second, two strokes behind champion Georgia, at the Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club in Knoxville.
"We definitely had two rounds that were up and down, but it felt good to finish strong," said junior Kalen Anderson, who finished seventh in the individual standings with a 226. "The solid finish undeniably proves the outstanding character of our team."
A first-round 302 landed the squad in a tie for third heading into the afternoon round Saturday. But a mediocre performance of 307 on the second 18 holes of the day all but eliminated the Blue Devils' chances for victory.
"We didn't have a good tournament," Brooks said. "We did not play as well as we're capable of."
Sophomore standout Beth Bauer, the second-best golfer in the nation going into the Mercedes, struggled with her game over the weekend. After shooting two-over-par the first time around the course, she ballooned to an 82 in the second round before limping in with an uninspired 77 Sunday when the tournament's outcome was still less than certain.
"She was having a little trouble in several different areas," Brooks said. "Golf is like that. You can have a problem in one area and be okay, but her short game and her long game were not that sharp, and it all built up."
Playing the most consistent golf for Duke, sophomore Candy Hannemann shot a 222, good enough for fourth place in the individual rankings. She finished five strokes behind individual medalist Shauna Estes of Georgia, who posted a score of one-over for the tournament.
"The truth is that we didn't play our best golf at all," Hannemann said. "To come so close and not play well is very encouraging. This tournament shows that if we play our best golf, we can beat anyone in the nation. This will only push our team to work that much harder."
Rachel Cohen contributed to this story.
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