You've got to beat the best to be the best. And that's exactly what Duke did when it countered a final surge from the Trojans with one of its own to secure the title.
The Blue Devils claimed their sixth national championship Friday as they won the NCAA Championship at Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., by two strokes with a total score of 1130. Top-ranked Southern California went on a tear in the final round, shooting 10 under par, but Duke was able to counter with a strong back nine to shoot six under par a capture the title.
The No. 3 Blue Devils entered the final day of competition with a six-stroke the lead and were able to maintain it against the Trojans, who started and finished Friday in second place. The victory was not an easy one for Duke, as Southern California did not go down without a fight.
“I have a great team—they’re just great in every way,” head coach Dan Brooks—a six-time national champion and WGCA Coach of the Year—said. “They work hard, they pull for each other and they keep things in perspective. They’re poised—that’s the best word. They kept on playing and didn’t let [the pressure] bother them.”
The Trojans seemed to have all the momentum when they took three-stroke lead on holes 7-10. But by the time the two teams reached hole 16, the Blue Devils had tied things back up at +12 a piece and would go on to claim a three-stroke lead by the time the two teams' groups had reached holes 14-17. The final effort was bolstered by senior Alejandra Cangrejo, who birdied three of six holes on 11-17 to help push Duke back on top, and fifth-ranked sophomore Celine Boutier.
Boutier nearly gave the Blue Devils their second national championship of the day as she finished the tournament with 276, just two strokes back from Southern California's Doris Chen, who held the lead for the majority of the day after starting tied with Boutier for first. The Frenchwoman made her final push on the final four holes, as she trailed Chen by two strokes on 14 but could not overtake the Trojan junior.
Freshman Sandy Choi also had a strong outing in her first NCAA tournament, finishing tied for 22nd with a final score of 286 . Senior Latetia Beck finished tied for 28th with a 288, followed by Cangrejo and freshman Yu Liu who tied for 38th and 43rd, respectively. Cangrejo made the biggest push Friday, as she jumped 19 spots after shooting a 68 in her final round, good for two under par.
"I don't want to ever say that one [championship] is better than another, because they were all great experiences," Brooks said. "But to be able to have this group of people fall behind against a team like [Southern California], then keep fighting and come back and have my two seniors come in each shooting 68, have a freshman shoot one-under, and have Celine [playing tremendous]....I can't imagine one of the other championships being better."
The title is Duke's first since 2007, which marked the end of a three-peat for the Blue Devils after being crowned national champions in 2006 and 2005 as well. The program's first title in 1999 also took place at Tulsa Country Club, but that tournament was shortened due to a final-round hailstorm.
"[In 1999], we led for three days, but couldn't play the last day," Brooks said. "I felt great about the fact that we played all three days, but Arizona State was playing great that last day. There's no way to really know how everything [would have] stacked up. There's always a [little bit of doubt]. We played the last day this time, and we got our [complete] win in Tulsa."
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