CHAPEL HILL - Despite drastic change in temperatures from Friday to yesterday, Duke dominated every round of this weekend's Tar Heel Invitational, posting the lowest scores of any team on all three days for a 19-shot, wire-to-wire victory at Finley Golf Course.
Duke also garnered top individual honors, as freshman Leigh Anne Hardin and junior Candy Hannemann each shot three-day totals of 220. Hardin was playing in only her second collegiate tournament.
"She plays consistently down the middle, gives herself chances for lots of pars and the birdies come because she's there waiting," said Duke coach Dan Brooks, who called his freshman "a model of consistency."
Hardin said that while she was surprised to win, she certainly felt very confident in her abilities coming into the tournament. Hardin also expressed excitement that she shared the title with one of her teammates.
"That's pretty cool," she said. "To have two people on the same team finish strongly is pretty special."
In finishing first, Hardin and Hannemann showed real mental toughness as the cold and windy conditions of the final day reduced the entire field to shivers.
"It changes a lot because your body's not used to it," Hannemann said. "It's hard to swing with all the stuff you have on, and being out [on the course] for five hours is also really hard."
Unlike Hannemann, who grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and attended high school in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Hardin began playing in the sometimes-frosty conditions of Martinsville, Ind. She accrued lots of experience playing under tough conditions.
"I'm used to cold weather," Hardin said with a smile. "So this is no big deal."
Hardin did, however, quickly point out that she by no means enjoyed playing in the cold temperatures.
"You can't really feel your hands," she said. "It's hard to swing [and] it's hard to get that feel."
Brooks also emphasized the effect of the difficult conditions on the players' short games.
"That's the part of [golf] that people underestimate, how much your feel [disappears]," Brooks said. "It's hard to putt when you're cold. You can automatically raise everybody's score."
Yesterday's scores stuck to that trend. After shooting a two-day total of 585, nine strokes over par, Duke finished with a final round 309, still the best Sunday total of any of the 17 competing teams.
While pleased with the performance of the entire team, Brooks singled out the play of senior Kalen Anderson as a terrific example of both his team's wealth of talent and dedication to improvement. Anderson, who Saturday produced the tournament's lowest score, a 3-under round of 69, led after the tournament's first two days before succumbing to the miserable conditions. She also finished among the top-10 individuals, tying for eighth while shooting 226.
"[It is a] testimony to her knowing how to play well," Brooks said. "She shot her 69 not hitting the ball well. [She] knows exactly how to play and how to think. She's become quite a player."
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