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Men's Golf
vs The Hayt
Saturday, September 14
Durham, N.C.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Day One at Rod Myers Invitational
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Wong, Pendaries Pace Men's Golf to RMI Lead
9/14/2019 8:17:00 PM | Men's Golf
DURHAM, N.C. -- Junior Qi wen Wong fired his career-round low round of six-under 66 on Saturday as the No. 12 Duke men's golf team charged to the 36-hole lead at the 10th annual Rod Myers Invitational at the Duke Golf Club.
The Blue Devils hold a six-stroke lead over the 13-team field heading into Sunday's final round, trailed by No. 6 Wake Forest (-15), Louisville (-10), Liberty (-8) and UNC Greensboro (-4) in the top five.
With Duke looking to chase down its first RMI title since 2012, the Blue Devils will tee off at 9:17 a.m. ET in Sunday's final round and are paired with Wake and Louisville.
Junior Adrien Pendaries fired a pair of rounds in the 60s to pace Duke on Saturday, and the French native is tied for second on the individual leaderboard at seven-under. He opened Saturday with a bogey-free, four-under 68 and closed the day with four birdies over his final eight holes to post a three-under 69 in the second round.
North Carolina's Ryan Burnett is two clear of Pendaries and leads the Rod Myers Invitational through 36 holes with his nine-under 135. Louisville's John Murphy is tied with Pendaries, while two other golfers are a stroke back at six-under par.
As a team, the Blue Devils shot a seven-under 281 in the morning round and backed it up with a 14-under 274 in the afternoon. The 274 score matched the low team round in the tournament's nine-year history, set in 2017 by both Duke and Vanderbilt.
"Through the lineup, it was tremendous execution of disciple, patience and skill," said head coach Jamie Green. "When you look at the day as a whole, the scoring was more challenging in the morning. The morning hole locations were less accessible, so that required a lot more discipline. The truth is the morning round – three guys under par and closing well – was the story of the day for us."
Wong bounced back from a four-over 76 in Saturday's opening round to record his best collegiate round of 66, highlighted by four birdies and a pair of eagles on the par-5 ninth and the par-5 14th holes.
"It started on No. 9 for sure," said Wong. "I was even-par on the round to that point, and hit my second shot just outside the bunker on the left and holed the chip for eagle and that kick started things. I hit a couple decent shots to the green and made some putts homing home."
Between the 11th and 15th holes, Wong went birdie, par, birdie, eagle, birdie to catapult 25 spots up the leaderboard. He enters Sunday's final round at two-under par 142 and is tied for 15th.
"He played a lot of competitive golf this summer," said Green. "So him catching fire and going low is not a surprise to our guys. We know he had that capability. Sometimes it's just a little something that sparks it -- he left it in a decent spot on nine – it was in a reasonable place to get up and down for birdie -- and he goes and holes it."
Senior Chandler Eaton posted a pair of under-par rounds on Saturday, following up his 69 in the morning with a 71 in the afternoon. The preseason first-team All-America selection is four-under 140 for the tournament and tied for ninth through 36 holes.
Rebounding from a one-over 73 in the morning, senior Steven DiLisio signed for a bogey-free 68 in the afternoon -- his first collegiate bogey-free round -- and sits tied for 11th at three-under 141. Junior Evan Katz rounded out Duke's lineup with rounds of 71 and 74 and is tied for 26th at one-over 145.
Playing individually for Duke, sophomore Quinn Riley carded his best round as a collegian with a 68 Saturday afternoon, following his 74 in the morning. The Raleigh native is tied for 15th at two-under 142. Also for the Blue Devils, junior Drew Powell is tied for 56th (76-77=153, +9) and senior Harrison Taee is 70th (80-78=158, +14).
"Their success on Day 1 is thanks in part to us having a veteran team on a course they're familiar with," said Green. "Having the goal of going out tomorrow being in tune with the hole you're on, not what else in going on – just staying in the moment. It should be a fun day."
Taee is off tomorrow at 7:45 a.m., with Powell at 7:55 at Riley at 8:15. Katz tees is up at 9:17, followed by Wong at 9:27, DiLisio at 9:37, Eaton at 9:47 and Pendaries at 9:57.
Duke Scoring
T2. Adrien Pendaries (68-69=137, -7)
T9. Chandler Eaton (69-71=140, -4)
T11. Steven DiLisio (73-68=141, -3)
T15. Qi wen Wong (76-66=142, -2)
T15. Quinn Riley* (74-68=142, -2)
T26. Evan Katz (71-74=145, +1)
T56. Drew Powell* (76-77=153, +9)
70. Harrison Taee* (80-78=158, +14)
*playing as individual
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils hold a six-stroke lead over the 13-team field heading into Sunday's final round, trailed by No. 6 Wake Forest (-15), Louisville (-10), Liberty (-8) and UNC Greensboro (-4) in the top five.
With Duke looking to chase down its first RMI title since 2012, the Blue Devils will tee off at 9:17 a.m. ET in Sunday's final round and are paired with Wake and Louisville.
Junior Adrien Pendaries fired a pair of rounds in the 60s to pace Duke on Saturday, and the French native is tied for second on the individual leaderboard at seven-under. He opened Saturday with a bogey-free, four-under 68 and closed the day with four birdies over his final eight holes to post a three-under 69 in the second round.
North Carolina's Ryan Burnett is two clear of Pendaries and leads the Rod Myers Invitational through 36 holes with his nine-under 135. Louisville's John Murphy is tied with Pendaries, while two other golfers are a stroke back at six-under par.
As a team, the Blue Devils shot a seven-under 281 in the morning round and backed it up with a 14-under 274 in the afternoon. The 274 score matched the low team round in the tournament's nine-year history, set in 2017 by both Duke and Vanderbilt.
"Through the lineup, it was tremendous execution of disciple, patience and skill," said head coach Jamie Green. "When you look at the day as a whole, the scoring was more challenging in the morning. The morning hole locations were less accessible, so that required a lot more discipline. The truth is the morning round – three guys under par and closing well – was the story of the day for us."
Wong bounced back from a four-over 76 in Saturday's opening round to record his best collegiate round of 66, highlighted by four birdies and a pair of eagles on the par-5 ninth and the par-5 14th holes.
"It started on No. 9 for sure," said Wong. "I was even-par on the round to that point, and hit my second shot just outside the bunker on the left and holed the chip for eagle and that kick started things. I hit a couple decent shots to the green and made some putts homing home."
Between the 11th and 15th holes, Wong went birdie, par, birdie, eagle, birdie to catapult 25 spots up the leaderboard. He enters Sunday's final round at two-under par 142 and is tied for 15th.
"He played a lot of competitive golf this summer," said Green. "So him catching fire and going low is not a surprise to our guys. We know he had that capability. Sometimes it's just a little something that sparks it -- he left it in a decent spot on nine – it was in a reasonable place to get up and down for birdie -- and he goes and holes it."
Senior Chandler Eaton posted a pair of under-par rounds on Saturday, following up his 69 in the morning with a 71 in the afternoon. The preseason first-team All-America selection is four-under 140 for the tournament and tied for ninth through 36 holes.
Rebounding from a one-over 73 in the morning, senior Steven DiLisio signed for a bogey-free 68 in the afternoon -- his first collegiate bogey-free round -- and sits tied for 11th at three-under 141. Junior Evan Katz rounded out Duke's lineup with rounds of 71 and 74 and is tied for 26th at one-over 145.
Playing individually for Duke, sophomore Quinn Riley carded his best round as a collegian with a 68 Saturday afternoon, following his 74 in the morning. The Raleigh native is tied for 15th at two-under 142. Also for the Blue Devils, junior Drew Powell is tied for 56th (76-77=153, +9) and senior Harrison Taee is 70th (80-78=158, +14).
"Their success on Day 1 is thanks in part to us having a veteran team on a course they're familiar with," said Green. "Having the goal of going out tomorrow being in tune with the hole you're on, not what else in going on – just staying in the moment. It should be a fun day."
Taee is off tomorrow at 7:45 a.m., with Powell at 7:55 at Riley at 8:15. Katz tees is up at 9:17, followed by Wong at 9:27, DiLisio at 9:37, Eaton at 9:47 and Pendaries at 9:57.
Duke Scoring
T2. Adrien Pendaries (68-69=137, -7)
T9. Chandler Eaton (69-71=140, -4)
T11. Steven DiLisio (73-68=141, -3)
T15. Qi wen Wong (76-66=142, -2)
T15. Quinn Riley* (74-68=142, -2)
T26. Evan Katz (71-74=145, +1)
T56. Drew Powell* (76-77=153, +9)
70. Harrison Taee* (80-78=158, +14)
*playing as individual
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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