Finally, the putts started to fall.
The women's golf team has struggled on the greens thus far this spring, but this weekend at the Liz Murphy Collegiate in Athens, Ga., almost everything was dropping.
The Blue Devils devastated the rest of the field, claiming a 17-stroke victory over LSU at the University of Georgia Golf Club. Sophomore Beth Bauer fired a course-record 67 in the first round and never looked back, cruising to the tournament title with a 6-under 213.
"She finally started dropping some putts," said coach Dan Brooks. "She has been frustrated with that. We kind of knew that once she started dropping some putts she'd go real low, which she definitely did."
But Bauer wasn't the only Blue Devil on the happy side of par. Freshman Maria Garcia-Estrada almost tied Bauer's course record in the second round, firing a 68 Saturday afternoon. Garcia-Estrada's phenomenal round was highlighted by back-to-back eagles, and the freshman finished the tournament at 2-under, good for third place in the field.
The win was Duke's sixth of the year, and a good note to enter the ACC Championships on in two weeks. But while the field at the Liz Murphy featured some strong schools like Georgia, the country's elite teams were absent.
"It's hard to know if Arizona or Arizona State were with us what they'd be doing here," Brooks said. "They'd probably be nipping at our heels. I'm proud of our team and I'm pleased with how they played, but it's a little hard to see how we would've fared if this was the championship field."
All total, four of Duke's five starters placed in the top 10, including Kalen Anderson and Kristina Engstrom, who finished eighth and ninth, respectively. The duo went in opposite directions, as Anderson recovered from a difficult start while Engstrom started strong but finished roughly.
Anderson's tournament neared disaster during Friday's first round of play. The junior's scorecard read 5-over after the first four holes, but she finished the tournament at 3-over. Engstrom, meanwhile, fired two straight days of under-par golf, only to shoot an 81 yesterday in wet conditions.
"Kalen got off to a rough start, decided that's not how she wanted it to go and really turned it around," Brooks said.
Rounding out Duke's scorecard was senior Amie Lehman who struggled throughout the tournament, carding three straight rounds of 80 or higher. She finished at 23-over, and in a tie for 65th place. Struggling Candy Hannemann played as an individual and shot a 75 in the first round, but an 84 Saturday dropped her tournament finish to 48th place.
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