Although they didn't steal the show with a dazzling performance, the Blue Devils showed encouraging signs of improvement that should carry into their final two fall tournaments.
Duke finished seventh out of 12 teams—including eight ranked squads—at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, concluding the two-day, 54-hole event Tuesday with a score of 34-over-par 874. The event opened Monday with two rounds before wrapping up with a final 18-hole round Tuesday.
The Blue Devils' score relative to par might not have looked pretty on paper, but Duke competed much better than it has for most of the past two seasons, finishing ahead of ranked squads Vanderbilt, Georgia and tournament host Texas Christian.
"They stayed focused and continued to believe in themselves," Duke head coach Jamie Green said. "This game can beat you up. We've had a couple of not-so-great finishes and had a hard time capping off, so to have our guys play pretty solidly on the back nine, particularly [Tuesday]...that was really nice to see."
With a new focus on hitting go-to shots and keeping their ball flight down, the Blue Devils had a quartet of players tied for 19th at six-over-par after the first 36 holes concluded Monday and got off to a solid start on the demanding golf course.
Although Oregon won the event with a score of 11-over-par, the real winner was the famed Colonial Country Club. The par-70 layout that annually hosts the PGA Tour's Crowne Plaza Invitational shredded some of the best collegiate golfers in the world.
No team was able to record a round at even par or under par on the course and only five individuals finished at even par or better, making Duke's performance even more encouraging as it returns to Durham to host the Rod Myers Invitational this weekend.
"The weather really wasn't very difficult. There was a little wind, but not very much at all, which says a lot about the golf course," Green said. "We had the guys playing on the second, third and fourth round hole locations they use for the PGA Tour event. The hole locations and the challenge of the rough, [along with] a little a bit of wind and some narrow fairways—that's what started to separate the field."
Senior Michael Ricaurte led the way for the Blue Devils, finishing tied for 11th at seven-over-par. In just his second start of the year, the Columbus, Ohio, native showed noticeable improvement after posting a disappointing 76.9 scoring average last year, closing the tournament with an impressive final-round 71.
"I'm really pleased with how [Ricaurte] has stayed on track," Green said. "He's one of the fitter players on our team. He works really hard in the weight room. When you play a 36-hole day and cap it off with another round after that, he's the one you want on your team. I was really excited for him to come out and see a strong finish."
Freshman Adam Wood turned in another strong performance, finishing tied for 16th at eight-over-par after recording a top-10 finish in his first tournament of the season three weekends ago. The Zionsville, Ind., native was able to get off to a much better start in his rounds than he did in his first two events, something he hopes can continue as the season progresses.
Wood's classmate, Jake Shuman, also finished in the top 25, carding rounds of 71, 75 and 74 to finish tied for 22nd at 10-over-par. After failing to break 80 in the final rounds of his first two starts, Shuman was able to keep it together Tuesday and has also shown plenty of promise early in his young career.
"He kept things really steady after struggling [Tuesday] on the front nine," Green said.
Sophomore Max Greyserman and senior Turner Southey-Gordon rounded out the lineup and finished tied for 40th at 14-over-par. Although Greyserman was tied with Ricaurte, Wood and Shuman after 36 holes, he was derailed by a final-round 78.
After grinding its way to a solid finish on the course that owns the nation's longest streak of consecutive years hosting a PGA Tour event, Duke should return home feeling very good about itself entering Friday's first round at Duke University Golf Club.
The Blue Devils finished third at their own tournament last year, and could find themselves in position to improve on that placement if they continue implementing "go-to" shots and staying disciplined.
"It really does come to those later-in-the-round moments when you [need] to stick to the shot you know and stick to the one that you know you can pull off," Green said. "Guys did that better this week."
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