Disappointment characterized yesterday's final round for the men's golf team, as the Blue Devils finished second despite entering Tuesday with a share of the lead. Duke was eight shots behind Augusta State, which played an impressive round and took home the team crown at the Duke Golf Open played at the Duke Golf Club.
"We would have liked to play a little better," said head coach Rod Meyers. "Anytime you are tied for the lead you want to have a chance to win. Augusta State just played too well."
Frustration also ruled the day for Mike Castelforte, who was challenging for the individual championship. The Duke junior had a five-stroke lead after 36 holes, but shot a plus-four 76 in the final round and finished third. Castelforte ended the event three shots behind individual champion Oliver Wilson of Augusta State.
"It's about as disappointed I have been about a round of golf in a long time," Castleforte said.
Wilson came out firing and posted a final round 68, an impressive comeback given the conditions and the inherent difficult of the course.
The recent rain and the cool temperatures added significant difficulty to the course. Additionally, many pins were either tucked in corners or on the most challenging sections of the putting surface. As a team, Duke shot a plus-four 292 Tuesday. Ryan Blaum turned in the low round of the day for the Blue Devils with a minus-one 71. Leif Olson fired a 72 and finished the tournament tied for eighth, placing second among Blue Devil competitors.
Myers was happy with his teams overall performance during the tournament. He noted that second place was impressive given the level of competition and relative youth of his golfers.
"If you asked me before the tournament started, I would have realistically taken second place," Myers said.
While Castleforte was fighting for his first collegiate title, he was most upset about letting down the team.
"It put a lot of pressure on everyone else," he said. "I am disappointed to put everyone in that situation."
Castleforte blamed his high final round score on his putting woes, as he missed a number of short-range putts on the front nine holes.
"It boiled down to making putts," he said. "I hit the ball pretty similar to yesterday's round."
Besides the putting, Castelforte struggled on the ninth hole when he had difficulty clearing an errant tee shot from the woods. He posted a double bogie, capping a front nine he would like to soon forget.
"This was the first time for Mike to be in that kind of position," Meyers said. "Ironically, he played very solid."
The team will not have long to dwell on the disappointment of yesterday's loss, as the Blue Devils travel across the country to compete in The Nelson at Stanford University this weekend. The tournament will give Duke the opportunity to play against some of the best teams in the nation.
The Blue Devils have played well on the Stanford University course in recent years and look to build on an already successful fall season.
"I am trying to forget about today's round," Castleforte said. "It feels like the fundamentals are good and we should have a good weekend at Stanford."
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