Duke Finishes Second At ACC Championship

Sunday, April 20

New London, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three

Blue Devils Ranked 13th In Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches? Poll

Duke Finishes Second At ACC Championship

4/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

NEW LONDON, N.C. -- Junior Clark Klaasen fired a four-under 68 to lead Duke to a four-under 284 in the final round on the ACC Championship on Sunday. The Blue Devils finished second overall with a 23-under 841, the lowest 54-hole ACC Championship score in school history.

"Obviously we are disappointed that we didn't win the tournament but our guys fought really hard and I think they have a lot to be proud of," said head coach O.D. Vincent. “We gave it everything we had today but we just never really got anything going. For the third day in a row we got off to a real slow start on the first hole and I think that is the hole out there that we probably left the most shots on. But again, I am really proud of our guys and the way they played to the end.”

Duke entered the day with a one-stroke lead and held a two-stroke edge when a chain of thunderstorms halted play for 2:18 minutes with Duke, Florida State and N.C. State on holes 4 through 7. Following the break Florida State grabbed the lead and held on down the stretch for their first ACC title.

The Seminoles closed the tournament with a 26-under 838, three shots ahead of Duke. North Carolina finished third at 18-under (846), while Georgia Tech (-17, 847) and Wake Forest (-16, 846) were fourth and fifth, respectively. Wake Forest's Webb Simpson grabbed individual honors with an ACC Championship record 14-under 202.

“Florida State is a really good team and they played well. My hat is off to them,” added Vincent. “I hope there is a lot of confidence built that we were in contention, that we did a great job in a great conference tournament. At the same time, I hope it burns a little bit that we didn't finish on top and the guys that have a chance to come back next year want to come back and win this tournament.”

Klaasen got off to a fast start on Sunday with birdies on No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 to move to three-under before the weather delay. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native added a birdie on the par 4 ninth hole to make the turn at four-under. He suffered his lone bogey on the round on No. 12 but responded with four straight pars before getting back to four-under with a birdie on No. 16. Klaasen closed par-par to post a four-under 68 and finish the event tied for eighth overall with a five-under 211.

Adam Long also got off to a fast start en route to a final round 69 (-3). The sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., sank 10-15 foot birdie putts on No. 1 and No. 2 and added another birdie on No. 4 to move to three-under through four holes. He dropped a stroke with a bogey on No. 9 but recovered with five straight pars after the turn. Long added a birdie on the par 4 15th hole but gave the stroke back with a bogey on No. 17. He finished the day with a birdie on No. 18 and closed the event tied for 13th with a four-under 212 (74-69-69). Long also finished tied for the tournament lead with 41 pars in the 54-hole event.

Freshman Wes Roach had 13 pars, two birdies (No. 6 & No. 11) and three bogeys en route to a one-over 73 on Sunday. The Knoxville, Tenn., native finished the event tied for third in par 4 scoring (-4, 3.87) and tied for fourth in birdies with 14. Roach posted his first career top 10 showing, finishing tied for eighth with a five-under 211.

Matthew Pierce opened the final round with six straight pars before carding a birdie on the difficult par 3 seventh hole. He dropped a stroke with a bogey on No. 9 and opened the back side par-birdie-bogey to play the first 12 holes at even-par. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native tacked on three more pars before running into trouble on the par 4 16th hole. Following a wayward tee shot, Pierce carded a double-bogey on the 16th and finished par-par for a two-over 74. He ended the tournament tied for 34th with a three-over 219.

Senior Michael Schachner posted 14 pars and four bogeys for a four-over 76 in the third round. Despite the rocky final round, Schachner posted his eighth top 25 finish of the season. The Libertyville, Ill., native was tied for 20th overall with a two-under 214 (69-69-76).

The Blue Devils picked up a point in the Carlyle Cup, an all sports competition between Duke and North Carolina, by finishing ahead of the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship. North Carolina currently leads the competition, 17-9.

Duke will be out of action for nearly a month prior to the NCAA Regional Championship (May 15-17).

“The month in between now and regionals is going to be a real tricky month with final exams and keeping these guys as fresh as they need to be,” said Vincent. “We need to work on a few things, but we will get them a little rest and then get back and get ready for regionals. The regional tournament is the most intense event of the year because there is so much on the line. We are going to work hard to do as well as we can. No team is safe in that event so we've got a lot of work to do.”