The 14th-ranked men’s golf team got its season underway this weekend at the Bank of Tennessee at the Ridges Tournament. Duke finished in a disappointing tie for 10th as the home state Tennessee Volunteers dominated the field.
Tennessee freshman Phillip Pettit finished at eight under par and won his first career tournament, leading the Volunteers to a team victory.
Oklahoma’s Anthony Kim started the day in the lead but finished in second with a disheartening 74 Sunday. He was six under par for the weekend.
Brian Duncan of Clemson and Webb Simpson of Wake Forest finished in a tie for third place at five under par. Duncan led Clemson’s third-ranked squad, which finished third in the tournament, behind Tennessee and TCU.
Second-team preseason All-American junior Nathan Smith had the best performance for the Blue Devils, coming in fifth place. His final-round 68 tied him for the second-lowest round of the tournament.
“I played all right this weekend. I did certain things well and I made a lot of birdies, but I was pretty rusty, too,” Smith said. “I feel like I should have won that tournament. I made some uncharacteristic errors, with some double bogeys and hitting some balls in hazards. It was still a good way to start off the year. It was a really competitive field.”
Smith started the day at even par and finished the front nine with one birdie and one bogey. He then surged, making birdies on the first four holes after the turn. He could not get any closer than that, however, as he finished at four-under for the weekend.
“I missed a four-footer for birdie on five that would have been five birdies in a row and missed an eagle opportunity on eight. The first four holes kept me in it, but I could have gotten much closer,” Smith said.
Michael Quagliano, one of two Duke freshmen in the lineup, was impressive in his first collegiate tournament. During his final round, he was as low as two under par, before struggling on his final nine holes to finish at two over for the 54-hole event.
“[Quagliano] played well,” Smith said. “He played pretty solid throughout the whole week. I was definitely impressed.”
Other Duke competitors were freshman Michael Schachner, junior Alex Wilson and senior Tom Lefebvre. All three golfers struggled, but each kept all of their rounds in the 70s. Schachner finished strong, with a final round 73, moving himself up five spots on the leaderboard, showing impressive composure for a freshman.
“Schachner is a real good player,” Smith said. “I expect really good things from him in the future.”
The Blue Devils were hurt by the loss of third team preseason All-American junior Ryan Blaum, who competed in the Oregon Classic, a tournament on the Nationwide Tour.
The Duke men continue their season next weekend at The Farm tournament in Dalton, Ga.
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