In what might be a preview of the ACC Championships in less than two weeks, Duke rode a final-day 281 to a second-place finish among an ACC-heavy field in Raleigh this past weekend. At the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the campus of N.C. State, senior Adam Long—behind a gritty final-round 68—captured first-place honors at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate with a one-shot win.
Long shot a 77 and 69 in two rounds Friday, and followed that up with a 68 in the third and final round Saturday to finish at 1-over par.
After two unspectacular rounds on the first day of competition, No. 26 Duke shot the low round of the day Saturday on the 7,358-yard Arnold Palmer design, and it took a high-level performance from each Blue Devil on what would prove to be moving day at the tournament. The worst score of the day for Duke was a 1-over par 72 from Wes Roach—a testament to the Blue Devils’ depth.
“When they had an opportunity to stuff an iron [into the green] close for a good birdie look, they did that,” head coach Jamie Green said. “It was a good combination of calculated and aggressive play.”
Freshman Julian Suri was able to overcome a shaky start to his second round and lurked near the top of the leaderboard all weekend with scores of 73-71-71. After his 2-over 73 in the Friday morning session, it looked like Suri might slide down the standings after he bogeyed five of his first nine holes in the afternoon. Suri stormed back, however, with four birdies in his next seven in a spotless final nine. An even-par final round gave Suri a score of 2-over and placed him in a tie for second individually, his third top-10 finish of the year.
“There was a very stoic, determined look on his face,” Green said of Suri. “He was going to right the ship—it was just a matter of which holes and how soon.”
The round of the day, however, belonged to Long, who shot his second consecutive sub-70 round to vault ahead of the rest of the field.
Long came out of the gates firing Saturday, with four birdies in the first seven holes en route to a front-nine 32. The senior was able to atone for each of his two bogeys after the turn with birdies, and avoided the big numbers that plagued the rest of the field—most notably Lanto Griffin of Virginia Commonwealth. Griffin teed off on the 47th hole of the 54-hole tournament at even-par and a shot clear of Long, but a final-nine 38 proved to be Griffin’s demise.
Long’s last few holes were not devoid of adversity, though. After a birdie on 14 put him back to 3-under for the day, Long stepped up to the tee at No. 15—a 549-yard par-5 he birdied the previous round. With driver in hand on what is likely the toughest driving hole on the course, Long looked to avoid the two water hazards guarding either side of the landing area.
Long bashed a drive through the right side of the fairway and into a long lateral hazard, and after a conference with Green, safely pitched out of a treacherous lie back into the fairway, leaving him just under 200 yards to the green. Although Long bogeyed the hole after missing the green with his approach, his poise under pressure to not let his score balloon to a double- or triple-bogey—and then to birdie the par-4 16th—allowed him to capture his first tournament victory.
“He’s got a good round going, and he knocks it into the hazard…. For some guys, that might have really bummed them out,” Green said. “Had he been thinking about the tournament lead, that might have been a stumbling block… but he kept his head about him, and stepped up on 16, 17 and 18 and hit great golf shots coming in.”
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