After finishing second at the Landfall Tradition in both 2012 and 2013, two consecutive five-over rounds prevented the Blue Devils from making a similar run to the top of the leaderboard this weekend.
Duke entered Sunday in 11th place following its slow start, but shot a two-over-par 290 final round to tie for seventh place at the Wilmington, N.C., tournament.
"The putts didn't fall for us, and we got in a couple spots that got us in trouble score-wise," Blue Devil head coach Dan Brooks said. "We didn't play our best, and we didn't play our worst. Nobody really went low, and nobody went really high either, just in the middle."
Duke remained near the top of the leaderboard for most of its first round before shooting seven-over through its final four holes Friday to fall to 12th place by the end of day one.
Freshman Leona Maguire led the Blue Devils with an even-par Friday, and would have finished one-under if not for a bogey on the par-5 18th. After Friday's round, Maguire had carded even or under par rounds in nine of her first 10 collegiate outings.
The rest of Duke's lineup combined to shoot seven-over-par in the first round of play. Junior Celine Boutier looked to be on her way to breaking par before bogeying three of her final four holes and finishing at plus-two. Sophomore Sandy Choi and freshman Lisa Maguire, twin sister of Leona, also finished plus-two Friday. Freshman Gurbani Singh led the Blue Devils with a one-under 35 at the turn on day one and finished the day at one-over in just her second collegiate tournament.
Leona Maguire and Boutier led the way for Duke Saturday with even-par performances after both golfers birdied the 18th hole. The back nine would again prove troublesome for the Blue Devils, who combined to shoot eight-over after the turn on day two. Duke would head into the final round 11 strokes back of first-place Wake Forest.
"We were five-over both [Friday and Saturday], and that's not horrendous golf," Brooks said. "It's not the kind of golf we hope to play, but it's not terrible. Everybody was just far enough off, that when that accumulates, you wind up in the middle of the pack."
Sunday proved to be a day of redemption for the Blue Devils after underperforming Friday and Saturday.
Maguire again paced Duke in the final round, finishing at two-under in dramatic fashion. After making the turn at one-over, the freshman would birdie the 12th to return to even par and then eagle the 18th to finish the weekend. Maguire's two-under score for the weekend was good enough for a seventh-place tie on the individual leaderboard.
"Leona went under par. That was a very bright spot to go two-under," Brooks said. "It's not an easy golf course. The Pete Dye Course at Landfall is not easy. So if you're going under par, you're playing great golf."
Boutier also finished her final round in dramatic fashion. After double-bogeying the first hole of the day, the junior sat at two-over after 14 holes. But from the 15th tee box onward, Boutier found her stroke. After shooting three bogeys on the final four holes Friday, Boutier sunk three birdies and just one bogey Sunday to finish the day at even par and tied for 16th on the weekend.
Singh and Choi shot two-over Sunday, and Lisa Maguire rounded out the Blue Devil lineup with a four-over 76 to finish the weekend.
Junior Yi Xiao, who competed in the tournament individually, finished the weekend tied for 92nd place after a 10-over round Sunday.
After placing third, fifth and first in its first three tournaments of the year, Duke's seventh place finish marks its lowest of the season.
"I would not call it a disastrous tournament by any stretch," Brooks said. "it was just a little bit off for everybody, and that adds up."
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