Duke Takes Team Title at Irish Creek Collegiate

Sunday, April 10

Kannapolis, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two at Irish Creek Collegiate

Duke Takes Team Title at Irish Creek Collegiate

4/10/2011 8:49:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The Duke men's golf team fired a closing round 283 (-1) on Sunday to claim the team title at the Irish Creek Collegiate with an eight-under 844 (276-285-283). Sophomore Julian Suri paced the Blue Devil attack with a three-under 68, while Brinson Paolini and Spencer Anderson shot even-par 71s in the final round.

"The guys have worked their tails off and stayed focused and determined," said head coach Jamie Green. "They did that all week and it paid off."

Suri carded three birdies over the final five holes to help Duke break open a close head-to-head battle with Wake Forest. The Blue Devils claimed their first stroke-play title and second tournament championship of the spring with a seven shot victory over the Demon Deacons. Louisville finished third at four-over 856 with Middle Tennessee State (+13, 865) and Kennesaw State (+14, 866) rounding out the top five.

"Julian's finish really helped seal the deal today," Green continued. "He played beautiful golf down the stretch and really helped spread the gap between us and Wake Forest."

Suri opened final round play with a bogey on the par 4 fourth hole and slipped to two-over with a bogey on No. 11. He recovered with birdies on No. 13 and No. 14 to get back to even-par. The St. Augustine, Fla., native moved into red figures with a birdie on the par 4 17th hole and closed out the round with birdies on No. 2 and No. 3 to match his low round of the year with a three-under 68. Suri finished tied for seventh overall with a two-under 211 (70-73-68).

Anderson, who has missed a large portion of the season while recovering from thumb surgery, registered his third straight round of even-par or better golf to finish tied for fifth with a three-under 210 (70-69-71). He shot a two-under 33 on the front nine with birdies on No. 4 and No. 8. Anderson ran into trouble with bogeys on No. 11 and No. 12 to slide back to even-par. He bounced back with a birdie on the 582-yard, par 5 13th hole but suffered a bogey on the par 3 18th hole to close out the round.

"It has been a long time since I have been able to compete like that," said Anderson. "It is definitely rewarding. There was a lot of hard work that didn't pay off for a long time. Today I was very patient and smart about putting the ball up there on the green and giving myself a chance. For the most part it was a pretty stress-free round."

Paolini had a steady round with 16 pars, one birdie (No. 11) and one bogey (No. 5) on Sunday. He closed out the tournament tied for seventh with a two-under 211. Paolini now has three top 10 finishes on the season and seven in his career.

Senior Wes Roach fired a two-over 73 in the final round and finished tied for 12th with a one-over 214. He had one birdie, 14 pars and three bogeys on Sunday. Roach has finished in the top 20 of six consecutive tournaments for the Blue Devils.

Tim Gornik, a sophomore from Llubljana, Slovenia, shot a four-over 75 on Sunday. He finished tied for 17th overall with a three-over 216 (68-73-75). Gornik now has four top 20 finishes and has shot 75 or better in 20 of 21 rounds played.

Duke also received outstanding efforts from a pair of individuals as freshman Yaroslav Merkulov and Austin Cody both finished in the top 15.

Merkulov shot a three-under 68 on Sunday to finish tied for second with a four-under 209 (73-68-68). Lee Bedford (Wake Forest) grabbed the individual title with a seven-under 206. Merkulov began the final round with a birdie on the par 5 14th hole before slipping back to even-par with a bogey on No. 18. He closed with 10 pars and birdies on No. 4, No. 6 and No. 13 to secure his top finish and his third top 10 showing of the year.

Cody fired a one-under 70 to climb into a tie for 15th with a two-over 215 for the tournament. The North Charleston, S.C., native had 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey in Sunday's final round.

Duke returns to action April 22-24 at the ACC Championship at Old North State Club in New London, N.C.

NOTES

*** Duke finished off the second round on Sunday morning with one-over (285) to enter the final round of play one shot back of Wake Forest.

*** All seven Blue Devils competing in the Irish Creek Collegiate finished in the top 20 overall.

*** The team victory was Duke's first stroke-play title since the 2009 River Landing Intercollegiate. The Blue Devils won the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship earlier this spring.

*** Merkulov and Roach now lead the Blue Devils with seven rounds of under-par golf.

*** Roach moved into the top 10 at Duke in career under-par rounds during the Irish Creek Collegiate.

*** All eight members of the Duke men's golf team have posted at least one round in the 60s this season ... the Blue Devils had six rounds in the 60s this weekend.

*** Head coach Jamie Green has now guided his teams to 20 tournament championships ... he has led the Blue Devils to three tournament titles.

*** Duke, ranked 18th in the latest Coaches' Poll, has two tournament championships and two third place finishes this spring.

QUOTES

Head coach Jamie Green

On having seven players finish in the top 20
"It is a pretty special thing for our program right now. We know we can put a lot of different guys in the lineup. A lot of different names can represent Duke and give us a chance to win. For our guys knowing that when they are on the golf course the guys in front of him and the guy behind him are right there in contention is a pretty comforting feeling. It helps them play with that much more confidence."

On the team's approach in the final round
"The leaderboard looks like you are playing against one team but the reality of it is I don't want our guys to be thinking about anyone in there group. It just needs to be about them and the golf course and we did a pretty good job of that today. Our players did a great job of staying focused on their task at hand and things that they could control."

On today's scoring
"Anybody in the field who shot even-par or better today was really playing well and playing smart. You had to be tactical and then had to hit golf shots and make putts. You really had to have a complete game to shoot even-par or better out there today."

Senior Wes Roach

On balance of the team
"It was great for everyone's confidence to have all seven guys finish in the top 20. If we can have all five guys in the lineup in the top 20 each time out we will have a chance to win a lot of tournaments. Playing well and winning the tournament is huge for our momentum heading into the ACC Championship. We are riding a high right now so if we can keep it going we should be in good shape for ACCs and throughout the NCAA Tournament."