Pierce, Blue Devils In Second At River Landing Intercollegiate

Friday, April 10

Wallace, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Long & Pierce Named To All-ACC Academic Team

Pierce, Blue Devils In Second At River Landing Intercollegiate

4/10/2009 9:45:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

Blue Devils In Second At River Landing Intercollegiate

WALLACE, N.C. -- Sophomore Matthew Pierce fired a 70-69=139 (-5) on Friday to lead Duke into second place at the River Landing Intercollegiate following two rounds of play. The Blue Devils opened the day with a two-over 290 before firing a team-low eight-under 280 in the second round.

"Our guys really battled today and fought their way back into tournament contention," said head coach Jamie Green. "With the wind howling in the second round we stayed focused, hit a lot of quality golf shots and converting putts on some really good greens

Host N.C. State is the tournament leader through two rounds at 13-under, seven shot ahead of Duke. Wake Forest is third at two-under (574), while Michigan (+1, 577) and Tulsa (+3, 579) round out the top five.

"You had to be able to control your ball flight and put your ball in position to score out there," added Green. "That really was the difference for the team that were able to score well today. All of our guys did a great job hitting quality golf shots and given themselves chances to score well."

Pierce is in second following 36 holes of play at the River Course (par 72, 6,942 yards), one shot behind leader Matt Hill (N.C. State) who shot a 67-71=138 (-7) on Friday.

Pierce really took advantage of the par 5s on Friday, finishing the day six-under on the par 5s at River Landing. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native had an eagle, two birdies, 13 pars and two bogeys in the opening round. In the afternoon session, he opened with three straight pars on the back nine before carding birdies on the par 5 13th and 15th holes to move to two-under. He bogeyed No. 17 and No. 1 to slip back to even-par and then went birdie-par-bogey to remain even with five holes remaining. Pierce registered three straight birdies on No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 and closed par-par to post a 69 and his fourth under-par outing in the last five rounds.

"Matthew [Pierce] had good looks for birdie on a number holes coming in and did a good job of converting," said Green. "He has helped give the team a shot in the arm. We have a lot of positive energy right now and the guys are upbeat, assertive and determined."

Sophomore Wes Roach shot an even-par 144 (73-71) and will enter Saturday's final round tied for 14th overall. He had four birdies in each round, including five on the front side of the River Landing course. Roach suffered a pair of double-bogeys in the opening round, while shooting a one-over 73. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started slow in the second round with a pair of bogeys in the opening three holes. He recovered two play the next 13 holes at four-under with birdies on No. 13, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 7. Following a bogey on No. 8, Roach parred the par 4 ninth hole for a one-under 71 and his fourth under-par round of the season.

Adam Long, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., is tied for 20th at one-over (145). He shot a three-over 75 in the opening round, before bouncing back with a two-under 70 in the afternoon session. Long got off to a strong start in the second round with a birdie on No. 12 and an eagle on the 509-yard, par 5 13th hole to move to three-under. He bogeyed No. 15 but got back to three-under with a birdie on No. 1. After going bogey-bogey on No. 2 and No. 3, Long got back to two-under with a birdie on the par 5 fifth hole. He dropped a stroke on the following hole but closed the day with a birdie on No. 9. Long now has a team-best five under-par rounds this season.

Freshman Spencer Anderson shot a 76-70=146 (+2) on Friday and is tied for 29th. He was five-over on his opening nine holes of the day before settling in. He closed the opening round with three birdies over the final six holes but also suffered a double-bogey in that stretch. Anderson opened the second round par-birdie-bogey before carding an eagle on the par 5 13th hole to get to two-under. He made the turn at one-under following a bogey on No. 15. Anderson added birdies on No. 1 and No. 6 to get to three-under before suffering a bogey on his final hole of the day.

Clark Klaasen is tied for 37th with a four-over 148 after shooting 72-76. He had three birdies in each round, including five birdies on par 5s. After firing a one-over 37 on his opening nine holes, Klaasen carding birdies on No. 13 and No. 15 to get in red figures. He bogeyed No. 17 and capped off the first round with a par for his third even-par round of the year. Klaasen also birdied No. 13 in the second round but following up bogey, triple-double, double-bogey to slip to five-over. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native played the remaining 11 holes at one-under with birdies on No. 18 and No. 5.

Senior Michael Quagliano is tied for 57th after shooting a 73-79=152 (+8) on Friday. The Ardsley, N.Y., native is competing as an individual.

Duke will tee off in final round action on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Blue Devils will go off the front side of the River Course and will be paired with N.C. State and Wake Forest. Live scoring for the event is available at www.golfstat.com.

"I am really please with how the guys handled the conditions today," added Green. "They are chomping at the bit to get back out there tomorrow, play in the lead group and defend the team title."

TOURNAMENT NOTES
*** Matthew Pierce, Adam Long, Spencer Anderson and Wes Roach were each under-par in the second round of play, marking the first time this season the Blue Devils have had four players under-par in the same round.

*** Duke played the par 5 13th hole at 12-under on the day. Matthew Pierce carded an eagle on the hole in the opening round, while Adam Long and Spencer Anderson posted eagles on N0. 13 in the afternoon round.

*** As a team, Duke finished the day with 35 birdies and three eagles. They had 15 birdies and one eagle in the opening round and 20 birdies and two eagles in the second round of play.

*** Duke's eight-under 280 in the second round was the lowest team score in the afternoon session. It was also the second-lowest round of the tournament.

*** Duke's eight-under 280 in the second round was one of two under-par rounds in the afternoon.

*** Duke's eight-under 280 is tied for the lowest round in relation to par for the Blue Devils this season. Duke also shot an eight-under 280 in the second round of the Administaff ASU Invitational last weekend.

*** Matthew Pierce hit a five-iron to within 10 feet of the hole 240 yards out on the par 5 seventh hole in the second round. He lipped out the eagle putt but tapped in for birdie to cap a stretch of three straight birdies.