The men's golf team struggled to a 12th place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic played at the Rio Mar Country Club. Oklahoma State took home team honors with a trio of schools tying for second, two strokes behind.
Duke, which has not been able to practice on a consistent basis due to poor weather in Durham, showed its lack of preparation as it failed to post low scores until the final round.
"I'm disappointed we didn't play better, " head coach Rod Meyers said. "I thought we would have been better prepared. There was a lot of inconsistency. "
Tuesday's final round was the best for the Blue Devils as Duke's three freshmen, Ryan Blaum, Nathan Smith and Alex Wilson, all posted their best scores of the weekend.
After firing a pair of 77s, Wilson ended the tournament with a final round 70 and tied for 35th as the Blue Devils' best finisher.
"The final day he just put it all together," Meyers said. "We still haven't gotten three good rounds out of him but as soon as he gets more consistent we will."
Meyers said that strong winds hampered his golfers in the first round. After 18 holes, the Blue Devils found themselves in 10th place having shot 304. Nathan Smith and Mike Castleforte each scored an opening round 75, tops for Duke.
Duke's play improved in the second round, but the scores did not necessarily show the improvement Meyers said.
Ryan Blaum, after losing in a playoff the previous weekend, did not continue his strong play in Puerto Rico.
"In the second round he went out of his game plan and tried to go for too much," Meyers said. "He made a couple of management decisions that ended up costing him. It not only cost him strokes but momentum."
After shooting a second round 71, Leif Olson fell apart in his final 18 holes. The senior shot an 85 in Tuesday's round.
"I don't think he has had a round of golf like that since he was 12," Meyers said. "He was really out of synch."
The Blue Devils should have plenty of time to work on some of the mistakes that cost them over the weekend. The team will not be back in action until the end of March when they play in the Schenkel/Ez Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.
"At this point, we feel like we just need to play more," Meyers said. "We are just going to try to play a little bit more and become more consistent."
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