The fifth-place Blue Devils left the ACC Championship, hosted in Wilmington, N.C., over the weekend, just one stroke behind North Carolina, the fourth-place finisher and match play qualifier with the highest score.
Duke came in second at the Old Barnwell Match Play in Aiken, S.C., this week after defeating Florida State and Mississippi State and tying South Carolina over three rounds of match play. The Gamecocks claimed the top spot in a tiebreaker based on total holes won over the round against the Blue Devils.
The team wrapped up the final day with a record-breaking score of 30-under-par, 834, and had three golfers among the top ten individuals, including freshman Katie Li who claimed the first overall spot.
Duke struggled with consistency across three rounds, facing challenging winds on the latter two, but had its share of positive showings and moments nonetheless.
The team traveled to Melbourne, Fla., for three days of competition — with one day off in the middle due to inclement weather — against top programs like LSU, Florida and Wake Forest. Duke’s 13th-place finish marked a tie with Alabama and placed the Blue Devils towards the bottom of the 17-team field.
The Blue Devils are entering 2024 energized and prepared for the invitationals and ACC play to come. After barely missing the cut to advance and finishing 18th in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, Duke put in the work over the fall.
The Blue Devils bounced back in this tournament, finishing with a respectable 21 under par and a total score of 843, showing notable improvement from the week prior.
At just the right time, Duke is playing its best golf, and has a chance to make some noise.
While the second-seeded Blue Devils and third-seeded Tigers duked it out throughout the morning and early afternoon in the Gate City, it was ultimately Clemson that came out on top.
Senior Erica Shepherd finished tied for 22nd at the Augusta National Women's Amateur and the Blue Devils claimed their first team trophy since 2021 with their dominance in Raleigh.
Brinker represented the Blue Devils’ only top-10 individual finish, as sophomore Rylie Heflin finished second on the team ledger in a tie for 30th at seven-over.
Duke placed ninth in the 10-team field in the Bahamas to begin its spring.
Year 39 of the Dan Brooks era is here. The Chronicle is here to bring you up to speed before the season begins.
Coming in at No. 10: Duke women’s golf found bright spots in Phoebe Brinker’s ACC title and Anne Chen’s victory in the Chattanooga Classic.
At the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at Governors Club in Chapel Hill, 54 holes was not enough to determine an individual champion, as Brinker and Castle were tied at -7 (209).
The seventh-ranked Blue Devils saw improvement through the first 54 holes and advanced to the final day as one of four teams competing in match play, but their stroke-play finish wasn’t high enough to compete for the top spot.
It was a momentous weekend for former Duke standouts Jaravee Boonchant and Gina Kim.
Duke concluded its trip to the Windy City with a tie for fourth place, its best finish of the six times the team has competed in the tournament.
Phoebe Brinker paced a Duke team aiming to start off its season on a high note.
For the first time as a professional, Gina Kim is a winner.
