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Men's Golf 2019-20 Season Recap
3/25/2020 3:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
DURHAM, N.C. – A Duke men's golf season that was on pace to be among the program's most successful was abruptly ended in March due to global concerns of the COVID-19 virus. The Blue Devils had risen to a program-best No. 1 in the national polls in the fall and finished among the nation's best teams statistically.
"We want to thank our supporters and we want to thank our parents, but we especially want to thank our players for an amazing school year," said head coach Jamie Green. "And while our spring season ended much more abruptly than we could have imagined, we are so very grateful to our seniors Harrison Taee, Chandler Eaton and Steven DiLisio for their leadership, hard work and diligent improvement. Our entire Duke family was amazing this season, and we're all very sorry to see what we expected to be a great season come to an end. We are excited for the future and hope everyone stays safe in this time."
Duke won the prestigious Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in October by fighting off a strong 14-team field, finished second at its own Rod Myers Invitational in September, and reached the championship match in a pair of elite match-play events on world-renowned courses at Cypress Point in California and Muirfield Village in Ohio.
Individually, junior Adrien Pendaries spent multiple weeks as the top-ranked collegiate golfer nationally, and would finish, along with classmate Evan Katz, in the top 15 of the Golfweek ratings. Katz paced the Blue Devils with his career best scoring average of 70.92 and was ranked No. 11, while Pendaries averaged 71.00 for the season and was ranked No. 12.
The abbreviated season kept the Blue Devils from their final three regular-season tournaments, the ACC Championship and potentially a berth in the NCAA Championship. Duke is set to return to action this fall.
Noting the Blue Devils...
Duke in the Polls:
Duke checked in at No. 12 in the final Golfweek team ratings and was ranked No. 18 in the most recent Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Top 25 Poll. It has not yet been determined if a final poll will be released. In the Golfstat team ratings, Duke was No. 13 in the final release.
Player Ratings:
In Golfweek's final player ratings for the 2019-20 season, junior Evan Katz was ranked No. 11, with junior Adrien Pendaries ranked No. 12. The Blue Devils joined Florida and Oklahoma as the only programs with multiple players ranked among the top 15.
In Golfstat's player ratings, Katz finished eighth, Pendaries was 22nd. Katz's finish in the Golfstat rankings of No. 8 ties the second-best by a Duke golfer all-time, matching Alex Smalley's finish from last season and trailing only a No. 7 finish by Jason Buha in 1996-97.
Tournament Wins:
Duke's win at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta marked the program's 86th all-time tournament win and the 19th under head coach Jamie Green. The Blue Devils have now won at least one team tournament in six consecutive seasons – the longest streak for the program in a decade.
Career Record Book:
Duke had three of the program's top six in career scoring average on the 2019-20 roster, with Pendaries's three-year career average of 71.53 ranked No. 2. The four-year average for senior Chandler Eaton of 71.59 is ranked No. 3, while Katz's three-year average of 72.32 ranked No. 6.
Eaton has posted 53 under-par rounds in his career -- the third-most at Duke, while his 71 rounds of par or better ae second-most are his 35 rounds in 60's. Alex Smalley, who graduated last season, owns the Duke career records for scoring average (71.32), rounds in the 60's (37), under par rounds (67) and par or better rounds (90).
Match Play Success:
With the addition of a match play portion to the 2020 ACC Championship, the Blue Devils beefed up their experience by competing in three match play events this past season. In the four-team Jack Nicklaus Invitational at the Murifield Village GC in Ohio, Duke defeated Florida State in the semifinals, 4-1-1, before falling to Clemson, 3-2-1, in the championship match.
Eight elite programs converged on the Cypress Point Golf Club for the Cypress Point Classic, and again, the Blue Devils reached the title match after beating Alabama, 3-0-0 and Stanford, 2-1-0. But ACC rival Georgia Tech took the title with a 5-1-0 victory over Duke.
Eaton was Duke's match play leader, posting a 6-1-1 record, while Pendaries was 6-2-0 and Katz was 5-3-0. For his career, Pendaries owns a 9-3-0 record in five collegiate match play events.
#GoDuke
"We want to thank our supporters and we want to thank our parents, but we especially want to thank our players for an amazing school year," said head coach Jamie Green. "And while our spring season ended much more abruptly than we could have imagined, we are so very grateful to our seniors Harrison Taee, Chandler Eaton and Steven DiLisio for their leadership, hard work and diligent improvement. Our entire Duke family was amazing this season, and we're all very sorry to see what we expected to be a great season come to an end. We are excited for the future and hope everyone stays safe in this time."
Duke won the prestigious Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in October by fighting off a strong 14-team field, finished second at its own Rod Myers Invitational in September, and reached the championship match in a pair of elite match-play events on world-renowned courses at Cypress Point in California and Muirfield Village in Ohio.
Individually, junior Adrien Pendaries spent multiple weeks as the top-ranked collegiate golfer nationally, and would finish, along with classmate Evan Katz, in the top 15 of the Golfweek ratings. Katz paced the Blue Devils with his career best scoring average of 70.92 and was ranked No. 11, while Pendaries averaged 71.00 for the season and was ranked No. 12.
The abbreviated season kept the Blue Devils from their final three regular-season tournaments, the ACC Championship and potentially a berth in the NCAA Championship. Duke is set to return to action this fall.
Noting the Blue Devils...
Duke in the Polls:
Duke checked in at No. 12 in the final Golfweek team ratings and was ranked No. 18 in the most recent Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Top 25 Poll. It has not yet been determined if a final poll will be released. In the Golfstat team ratings, Duke was No. 13 in the final release.
Player Ratings:
In Golfweek's final player ratings for the 2019-20 season, junior Evan Katz was ranked No. 11, with junior Adrien Pendaries ranked No. 12. The Blue Devils joined Florida and Oklahoma as the only programs with multiple players ranked among the top 15.
In Golfstat's player ratings, Katz finished eighth, Pendaries was 22nd. Katz's finish in the Golfstat rankings of No. 8 ties the second-best by a Duke golfer all-time, matching Alex Smalley's finish from last season and trailing only a No. 7 finish by Jason Buha in 1996-97.
Tournament Wins:
Duke's win at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta marked the program's 86th all-time tournament win and the 19th under head coach Jamie Green. The Blue Devils have now won at least one team tournament in six consecutive seasons – the longest streak for the program in a decade.
Career Record Book:
Duke had three of the program's top six in career scoring average on the 2019-20 roster, with Pendaries's three-year career average of 71.53 ranked No. 2. The four-year average for senior Chandler Eaton of 71.59 is ranked No. 3, while Katz's three-year average of 72.32 ranked No. 6.
Eaton has posted 53 under-par rounds in his career -- the third-most at Duke, while his 71 rounds of par or better ae second-most are his 35 rounds in 60's. Alex Smalley, who graduated last season, owns the Duke career records for scoring average (71.32), rounds in the 60's (37), under par rounds (67) and par or better rounds (90).
Match Play Success:
With the addition of a match play portion to the 2020 ACC Championship, the Blue Devils beefed up their experience by competing in three match play events this past season. In the four-team Jack Nicklaus Invitational at the Murifield Village GC in Ohio, Duke defeated Florida State in the semifinals, 4-1-1, before falling to Clemson, 3-2-1, in the championship match.
Eight elite programs converged on the Cypress Point Golf Club for the Cypress Point Classic, and again, the Blue Devils reached the title match after beating Alabama, 3-0-0 and Stanford, 2-1-0. But ACC rival Georgia Tech took the title with a 5-1-0 victory over Duke.
Eaton was Duke's match play leader, posting a 6-1-1 record, while Pendaries was 6-2-0 and Katz was 5-3-0. For his career, Pendaries owns a 9-3-0 record in five collegiate match play events.
#GoDuke
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