Duke Finishes Fifth At Carpet Capital Collegiate

Sunday, September 16

Dalton, Ga.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three

Duke Finishes Fifth At Carpet Capital Collegiate

9/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

DALTON, GA. ? Junior Clark Klaasen fired a closing round 72 on Sunday to finish tied for 10th overall at the Carpet Capital Collegiate with an even-par 216 (73-71-72). Klaasen's 10th place finish, his second top 10 of the fall season, helped Duke to a fifth place finish at the event with a 16-over 880 (296-293-291).

"We were consistent today, but never got into position to make a serious run," said head coach O.D. Vincent. "We were reminded how valuable each shot is in this game and we look forward to getting home and back to classes. It has been a long couple of weeks."

Defending champion Alabama shot a six-under 282 in the final round to tie South Carolina for the top spot with a five-over 869. The Crimson Tide topped the Gamecocks in the first playoff hole to successfully defend its title at the event. Georgia Tech was one shot back at 870, while Auburn (875) and Duke (880) rounded out the top five. Georgia Tech's Chesson Hadley took home the individual crown with an eight-under 208, while Alabama's Michael Thompson was three shots back at five-under.

Klaasen opened the final round with a par on No. 1 before moving to one-under with a birdie on the 601-yard par 5 second hole. After two more pars, he bogeyed No. 5, but quickly got back to one-under with a birdie on No. 7. Klaasen made the turn at even-par after a bogey on No. 9 and opened the back side with back-to-back pars. He birdied three of the next four holes (No. 12, No. 14 & No. 15) to move to three-under for the round. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native suffered a double-bogey on No. 17 and a bogey on No. 18 to drop back to even-par and finish the tournament tied for 10th with a 54-hole score of 216.

Freshman Wes Roach and sophomore Adam Long each took different routes to one-over 73s on Sunday. Roach opened with a birdie on No. 1 and added another birdie on No. 7 to make the turn at two-over. A double-bogey on No. 10 dropped him back to even-par but he recovered with a birdie on No. 12 to get back under par. His second double-bogey of the day came on No. 17. The Knoxville, Tenn., native parred the final hole to finish with a one-over 73. Roach, playing in his first collegiate tournament, tied for 40th with an seven-over 223.

Long got off to a slow start in the final round suffering three bogeys in the opening nine holes. The St. Louis, Mo., native sandwiched a pair of birdies around a bogey on No. 11 to get back to two-over and added a birdie on No. 16 to trim another stroke. Back-to-back pars on No. 17 and No. 18 capped off a round of 73 and put Long in a tie for 35th overall with a three-round score of 222 (+6).

Senior Michael Schachner, who also shot a closing round 73, opened with a birdie on No. 1 before carding bogeys on three of the next four holes to slip to two-over. He birdied No. 6 and after four straight pars birdied No. 11 to get back to even-par. The Libertyville, Ill., native added a birdie on No. 13 before suffering a double-bogey on No. 15 to fall back to one-over. He recovered with a birdie on No. 16 to get to even-par before a bogey on the closing hole capped off a round of 73. Schachner finished the tournament tied for 60th with a seven-over 223.

Freshman Matthew Pierce also finished tied for 35th at six-over after shooting a closing round 76 (+4). He suffered three bogeys on the opening five holes and slipped to five-over with a double-bogey on No. 14. Pierce posted his lone birdie of the day on the 417-yard par 4 18th hole.

Duke returns to action Sept. 30 when it competes in the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club. Last year, the Blue Devils captured the team title at the event.

NOTES

*** Duke carded 11 birdies on the back nine in the final round. The Blue Devils were three-under as a team on the back nine heading into No. 17 and No. 18 before playing the final two holes at five-over as a team.

*** Klaasen recorded 13 birdies and an eagle en route to his second top 10 finish of the fall season. He shot an even-par 72 in the third round for his third round of even-par golf of the season.

*** Klaasen played the front side of the Farm golf course at two-under par. He also excelled on holes No. 12 through 15, playing that four-hole stretch at seven-under. Klaasen played the 496-yard par 5 12th hole at four-under with two birdies and an eagle. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native played the final three holes at five-over with a pair of double-bogeys.

*** Pierce recorded six birdies and an eagle in the tournament, while fellow freshman Wes Roach had 10 birdies. Both players were competing in their first collegiate tournaments.

*** Long played the par 4s at the Carpet Capital Collegiate at one-over, tied for the sixth-best par 4 scoring in the event.