Duke Finishes Second at ACC Championship

Sunday, April 24

New London, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three at ACC Championship

Suri Named to PING All-America Third Team

Duke Finishes Second at ACC Championship

4/24/2011 11:14:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

NEW LONDON, N.C. - Sophomores Julian Suri and Brinson Paolini both recorded top five finishes as Duke finished second with a 13-under 851 at the 2011 ACC Men's Golf Championship. Suri and Paolini both fired three-under 69s on Sunday to lead the Blue Devils to a five-under 283 in the final round.

"We played well and I am quite proud of our guys preparation, their play this week and their attitudes throughout," said head coach Jamie Green. "We played with Georgia Tech in every round so obviously we knew how well they were playing. You have to congratulate them on another ACC Championship."

Georgia Tech captured their third straight and 13th overall title. The Yellow Jackets, who fired a 16-under 272 on Sunday, set a new low team record score of 831 (33-under). Duke finished second with a 13-under 851. Clemson finished 10 strokes behind the Blue Devils at 3-under 861. Virginia (E, 864) and Florida State (+2, 866) rounded out the top five and were followed by N.C. State was sixth (872), Virginia Tech (874), North Carolina (879), Wake Forest (879), Maryland (901) and Boston College (953).

Georgia Tech's Paul Haley claimed the individual title in dramatic fashion with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole with a score of 10-under par 206. Georgia Tech teammate Kyle Scott finished one-stroke behind Haley at nine-under 207 after firing a 4-under 68 on the final day. Suri and Georgia Tech's J. T. Griffin tied for third place at 7-under 209. Paolini finished alone in fifth place at 5-under 211.

"Julian [Suri] and Brinson [Paolini] shined and put themsevles in contention," said Green. "There was some really good play and a lot of birdies from them. They were certainly knocking on the door and that is going to be a good thing for them and a good thing for us in the future."

Suri posted his fourth straight under-par round with a three-under 69 on Sunday. He opened with a birdie on No. 1 and added birdies on No. 4 and No. 5 to move to three-under. He dropped a pair of stroke before the turn with bogeys on No. 6 and No. 8. Suri birdied No. 10 and No. 11 to get back to three-under but dropped a stroke with a bogey on No. 13. He birdied the par 3 14th before suffering a bogey on the par 3 17th hole. Suri capped off the tournament with a birdie on No. 18 to finish tied for third with a season-best 209 (-7).

"I knew there were going to be a lot of chances for birdies," said Suri. "This course can play short and the par 5s are pretty receptive. I didn't make as many birdies as I would have liked to, but overall I had a really good week and hit a lot of good golf shots."

Paolini overcame a slow start for his second straight round of 69 (-3). The Virginia Beach, Va., native bogeyed two of his first three holes before recovering with birdies on No. 4 and No. 7 to make the turn at even-par. Paolini moved to two-under with birdies on No. 10 and No. 12 before dropping a stroke with a bogey on the par 3 14th hole. He closed strong with birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 to finish fifth overall with a five-under 211.

"It is always fun to be in contention on the last day of a tournament," said Paolini. "I have been fortunate to be in that position each of the past two years here. I played really well and thought I played well enough to win but it wasn't meant to be. I learned a lot today and I am looking forward to working on a few things and getting ready for regionals in a couple of weeks."

Sophomore Tim Gornik posted a one-under 71 to finish tied for 18th with a 217 (+1). On Sunday, he opened with three straight pars before going birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey over the next four holes. Gornik added birdies on No. 10 and No. 12 to move to two-under on the day. He suffered a bogey on the par 3 17th hole before closing the tournament with a par on No. 18.

Wes Roach, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn., started strong with birdies on No. 1 and No. 5. He carded bogeys on No. 8, No. 11 and No. 15 to slip to one-over in the round. Following a double-bogey on No. 17, Roach birdied his final hole of ACC Championship play for a two-over 74. He closed the tournament tied for 33rd with a seven-over 223.

Freshman Yaroslav Merkulov carded a five-over 77 on Sunday to finish tied for 26th with a 220 (69-74-77). He had one birdie and 11 pars on Sunday but also suffered six bogeys in the round.

"Everybody pitched in," added Green. "We were able to separate ourselves from the rest of the field with our depth. Even though a couple of guys didn't have the complete tournament they were looking for, everyone had counting scores that helped us. That bodes well for us heading into the rest of the year."

Duke also earned a point in the Continental Tire Cup Battle of the Blues by finishing ahead of North Carolina in the team standings. The Blue Devils currently trail 14-12 in the all sports competition between Duke and North Carolina.

NOTES

*** With a second place finish in the 2011 ACC Championship, Duke has now finished in the top three of the tournament in four straight years.

*** Duke has now had a top 10 individual finish every year since 2005.

*** Suri led all players in par 5 scoring at eight-under (4.33) ... he was also tied for the tournament lead with 15 birdies, including seven in the final round.

*** Suri posted his third top 10 finish of the season.

*** Suri was one of four players to shoot under-par in all three rounds.

*** Paolini has finished in the top five in the ACC Championship in each of the last two seasons ... he has shot under-par in four of his six rounds at Old North State Club.

*** Paolini was tied for the tournament lead in par 4 scoring at five-under (3.83) ... he was also tied for fifth with 13 birdies.

*** Paolini now has a team-high three top five finishes this season.

*** Gornik recorded a team-high 35 pars for the tournament ... he was tied for third overall in par 4 scoring at three-under (3.90).

*** Gornik is now tied for the tied lead with six top 20 finishes.