The Blue Devils arrived in Athens, Ga., with the momentum they needed to stand out among a flurry of top-10 teams, but a sluggish start prevented them from ending the regular season on a high note.
No. 1 Duke posted a 14-over-par score of 302 Friday at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, not good enough to earn the top-eight finish required for participation in the weekend’s championship bracket. The Blue Devils’ match play rounds at the University of Georgia Golf Course were in the “black” bracket —consisting of the 9th-12th place teams from stroke play qualifying—where they notched a 2-1 finish.
Although Duke managed a winning record in match play, the team’s weekend success was too little, too late, as the Blue Devils’ ninth-place opening-round showing eliminated any chance of besting last season’s third-place finish at this event. The Blue Devils had just one player in red numbers Friday with Virginia Elena Carta firing a one-under-par 71, but no other Duke golfer could find consistency as the four remaining Blue Devils shot 75 or higher.
“It would have been better to be one of the top eight, obviously, to be playing against the very best teams you can play against,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “No matter who they put in front of us, we’re going to try and beat them, so we just took the normal approach.”
Even senior Celine Boutier—coming off her first victory since 2014—failed to find her game early. The senior posted her second-highest round of the season, and it was the potential difference-maker that deprived the team of its championship chances. Boutier had just three pars on the front half of the course Friday and was six-over-par on those nine holes—carding a 42—but shot a 37 on the back half of the course. The five-shot difference between her front and back nines was the largest disparity of any Blue Devil, and was the same number of strokes separating Duke from a tie for eighth place.
“Golf can be a little bit strange sometimes, especially when you’re playing in only a one-day stroke-play event,” Brooks said. “She’s a little off one day and we paid for it, so when you’re seeded based on one day, it’s a little tough.”
Gurbani Singh and Sandy Choi also could have preserved the Blue Devils’ weekend opportunities with strong Friday performances, but struggled on holes 15 through 18, with each of them making three bogies in the four-hole stretch. Lisa Maguire—filling in for her sister Leona as she played in an LPGA event—joined Boutier with a round of 79.
The Blue Devils did not let their early disappointment get them down, though, as the team delivered a pair of commanding victories Saturday against Oregon State and Auburn, winning eight of their 10 matches.
Singh led a trio of Duke victories during the team’s 3.5-1.5 morning victory against the Beavers, as the New Delhi native won her first four holes against Hannah Swanson and eventually took the match 6 and 4. Boutier turned her game around down as well, defeating Ashlee Pickerell 3 and 2 after never trailing during the match.
Maguire recorded the third win versus Oregon State, handing a 3 and 1 defeat to her opponent, Haley Nist, thanks to victories on holes 15, 16 and 17. The sophomore finished 2-1 in match play, a significant improvement compared to last season’s 0-3 result.
The second Saturday match brought an even better finish for the Blue Devils, as the team went 5-0 against Auburn. Choi and Boutier both earned 2 and 1 wins, while Singh capitalized on a one-hole lead with six to play, winning 1 up. The afternoon also saw Elena Carta return to her impressive day-one form, as the freshman took a 5 and 4 decision against Kelli Murphy. Maguire completed the team’s sweep with a 4 up victory by birdying the second hole of her match and maintaining her lead the rest of the way.
“We all hung tough,” Brooks said. "We got off to a slow start there that first match but everybody came through strong, we were down and then we came back, and then the next match obviously we won every match, so that was great.”
Duke faltered Sunday in match play against Arkansas, which defeated the Blue Devils 3-2. All five matches closely contested, with the largest margin of victory being just two holes. Boutier took a 1 up advantage against Summar Roachell—moving the Montrouge, France, native to 3-0 on the weekend—with Elena Carta capturing the team’s second victory on day two, also winning 1 up on the par-72 design.
No. 3 Alabama captured the team title in the event, winning a tough battle against No. 6 UCLA, 3-2.
The Blue Devils will tee off next at Sedgefield Country Club April 15-17 as they begin their postseason with the ACC championship.
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