After starting strong with a 4-under-par opening round Sunday, Duke slid back each of the next two days and finished in 12th place at the Puerto Rico Classic.
The No. 21 Blue Devils fell from sixth to 10th place on the second day of the tournament at the River Course at Rio Mar Golf Club, and finished the three-day tournament at 22-over par.
For the final day of the tournament, Duke shot 15-over-par with a round total of 303. In their first tournament of the spring season-which fifth-ranked Georgia won with a total score of 14-under par-interim head coach Brad Sparling felt there was plenty of room for the Blue Devils to improve.
"We played well at times and struck the ball well," Sparling said. "We need to go back and really work on improving our course management and short game."
The Blue Devils competed without the leadership of head coach Rod Myers, who is taking a leave of absence to undergo cancer treatment.
Junior Michael Schachner led the team with his 1-under-par final round of 71. He finished 13th in the tournament with a 2-under-par, 214, performance. Schachner carded thirteen birdies for the tournament.
Senior Jake Grodzinsky shot a 2-over-par 74 in the final round after coming into the round at even par to finish 31st in the tournament.
Freshman Adam Long shot a 1-over-par 73 on the first day and an even-par 72 on the second, but struggled in his final round to finish the tournament at 6-over par.
Although the Blue Devils were unable to continue the success of their opening round performance, Sparling said the tournament was a step in the right direction for the team.
"The golf course and wind presented us with many challenges," Sparling said. "Even though we could not match our first day score, we made some strides as an overall team."
Duke next travels to South Carolina March 11-13 to play in the General Jim Hackler Invitational at the TPC Myrtle Beach course.
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