Michael Schachner was one of only two golfers to shoot under par in all three rounds of this weekend's Gator Invitational-good for a share of first-place honors and enough to boost No. 9 Duke into a tie for sixth.
The senior paced the Blue Devils with a 3-under 67 Sunday, firing five birdies and 11 pars at the Mark Bostick Course at the University of Florida in the three-round, two-day event. Schachner had carded 2-under 68s in the two previous rounds.
Schachner shared the title with Alabama-Birmingham's Zach Sucher.
"I've been practicing really hard, and it's nice that it paid off," said Schachner of his first performance of the spring season. "The greens were really small [so] you need a good short game out there to play really well. I putted well, so that made the difference."
The host team won the Invitational for the 22nd time in the 32-year history of the tournament. The Gators finished 12 strokes ahead of second-place Florida State, and Mississippi State, UAB and South Alabama rounded out the top five.
Freshman Matthew Pierce shot an even-par 70 in the Invitational's final round, bogeying on only three holes on the day while parring 12. Pierce finished tied for 23rd, which accounted for the second top-25 effort of his career.
Clark Klaasen, who missed the first two rounds of play with a back injury, came back in the third to card a 2-over 72.
Adam Long rounded out the Blue Devils with a 4-over 74 and finished tied for 44th.
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