Building on improvements from earlier in the week, Duke found success on day two of the fifth annual Rod Myers Invitational—cut to 36 holes because of lightning—to end the week on a high note.
After falling behind early in their home tournament for the second straight year, the Blue Devils climbed to a fourth place finish Sunday after adjusting to wet and cold conditions. The Duke University Golf Club—soggy and slow after a week of heavy rain— frustrated a Duke team that had prepared for firmer conditions. But in the break between days, Duke made the necessary adjustments and overtook four teams en route to their five-over-par finish.
“We weren’t in a great place [Saturday] unfortunately,” head coach Jamie Green said, “We let the field move on too far past us, and it was going to be nearly impossible to catch all the teams in front. But the fact that we caught a few, passed a few and might have had the best day out there in relation to the field [Sunday] is a moral victory for us."
Severe weather resulted in a delay of play Saturday, as afternoon thunderstorms prevented teams from completing the second round. With teams scattered all around the golf course, tournament directors opted to shorten the tournament from 54 holes to 36. Sunday’s third round was abandoned, in favor of completing the unfinished portion of the second round to ensure that every team would be scored by the same 36 holes.
Through the mist, wind and delays, Green encouraged his team to keep things in perspective, stressing to his golfers the importance of focusing on what they could control. Green’s message was especially significant for freshmen Jake Shuman and Adam Wood, who had never experienced their home course in the rough conditions.
“For our returning golfers, they’ve played this course in these conditions before, so that wasn’t a big shock,” Green said. “But, for [Shuman and Wood], this was different than what they’ve seen… and they still finished high up on the leaderboard. I think that’s a credit to their preparation. They’re players who know the game.”
Shuman anchored the Blue Devils through both rounds, posting nine birdies and a two-under-par total on his scorecard after 36 holes. The Needham, Mass., native tied for eighth place overall, benefiting from an early hot streak that saw five birdies in a seven-hole stretch during the first round Saturday.
Wood improved on his 16th place finish Monday at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational, tying for 13th place and carding an even-par 36-hole total of 144 after the two rounds. The freshman from Zionsville, Ind., tallied eight birdies, but was hurt by two double-bogeys on front-nine holes during the weekend. Despite his brief slip-ups, Wood was still able to card his third top-20 finish in his first four starts for Duke.
Another strong week by the freshman duo did not go unnoticed by Green, who praised the pair's effort and called both players leaders on and off the course.
The two look to be embracing their leadership roles. With the confidence and composure that one might expect to see in senior captains, the freshmen spoke to their team’s confidence and its capabilities moving forward with only one more fall tournament remaining before the more intense spring season gets started.
“I think this team is a lot better than how we’re playing,” Shuman said. “I think we all believe that and all know that. We got momentum after Dallas last weekend and I think playing well today gives us a little more momentum.”
Key to building that momentum will be finding more consistent play from veteran players. Senior Michael Ricaurte—who had the best finish of his career Monday, tying for 11th overall—struggled this weekend, finishing tied for 38th. Finding reliable productivity week-to-week from players like Ricaurte and junior Motin Yeung would be a boon to a Duke team that needs more consistency from its five-man lineup.
But the Blue Devils are hoping that they can each use the positives from the busy week as motivation to have more confidence next time they tee it up. After rushing to complete 90 holes of golf in a week, Duke now has time to reflect on ways to improve the finer points of the game that can make a huge difference to competitive scores.
“We have to practice the right things," Wood said. “[Like] taking care of our resources and utilizing those resources to improve our games. In addition, we have to take care of things off the golf course. Getting things done in the classroom will help us create a balance and that can help us play good golf too.”
The Blue Devils will look to keep trending in the right direction after a slow start to the season when they travel to Dallas in two weeks for the Royal Oaks Invitational, their last tournament before a long winter offseason.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.