Erica Shepherd is ready for her second postseason run. But how did she get to this point?
At this weekend’s ACC Championship at the Watersound Club’s Shark’s Tooth Course in Panama City Beach, Fla., Duke finished ninth among the 12-team field after a difficult few rounds of stroke play.
In their quest for consecutive conference team titles, the Blue Devils came up short. But thanks to Phoebe Brinker and Erica Shepherd, Duke did not leave Pawleys Island, S.C., with a lack of hardware.
Duke finished in fourth place at the Valspar Collegiate Monday and Tuesday. The three-round competition took place in Palm City, Fla., where 15 competitive programs were invited to tee off as postseason play approaches.
Chen entered the final round Tuesday just two shots off the pace, but vaulted into the lead with a front-nine 32. Then, birdies on 11 and 18 finished off a pristine bogey-free 66, and made it official. In her 13th try, Chen was a winner at the college level.
If there’s one takeaway from the three-day event in Palos Verdes Estates, Ca., then it’s that sophomores Phoebe Brinker and Anne Chen led the way, tying for 18th and 26th at +5 and +7 on the individual leaderboard, respectively.
Over the three-day event at the par-71 Long Cove Club, Duke was able to improve on its score each round, moving up to 10th place by the end of the event.
But while head coach Dan Brooks and company harbor high expectations yet again, the 16th-ranked Blue Devils started their spring slate with an underwhelming tie for 10th in the 54-hole Moon Golf Invitational at windy Suntree Country Club.
Time will tell whether these Blue Devils can be contenders, but Duke is Duke, so don’t expect too much of a drop-off—if there even is one.
Yes, the Blue Devils were at the middle of the table, but the fact that Duke’s freshmen are making an impact and are complementing Siebers is promising.
An intense, action-packed spring season is now upon us, as Duke heads down to the Arizona Intercollegiate for its first tournament of the year.
After a decorated career as a Blue Devil, Gina Kim is making the leap to the LPGA. The Chapel Hill native, who was a freshman on the 2019 national title team and last year’s ACC individual medalist, decided to turn professional and forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility. Kim will attempt to Monday qualify into her first two events, which are set to take place over the next two weeks.
You can officially add "LPGA Tour member" to Gina Kim's decorated resumé.
Coming in at No. 8: Duke women's golf combines youth and experience to finish in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.
With nearly three months until its next event, Duke now has time to look at some film and chart out strategies for improvement. Which gives us a chance to look at a few statistics under the hood.
Back in May, the Cowgirls stifled the Blue Devils’ bid for an NCAA title in the match-play semifinals with a 5-0-0 sweep. While the finals of the East Lake Cup in Atlanta produced a closer result between the two programs, Duke came up just short, falling by a 3-2-0 decision.
Shepherd took home second-place honors at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational this past weekend at the Finley Golf Course, shooting a career-low 54-hole ledger of 206.
It is not often that two surefire contenders compete in the same event seven months out from the postseason, but that is exactly what happened this week on the outskirts of Chicago.
Less than four months have passed since Duke saw its repeat national title hopes run dry in the Arizona desert, but fall golf creeps up on you fast.
Zheng tied for third individually, with a gutsy final stretch propelling both himself and his team onto the podium.
