Blue Devils Close Action at Windy City Classic

Tuesday, October 5

Wilmette, Ill. (Westmoreland Country Club)

Duke University

Windy City Collegiate Classic

Photo by: Clyde Click

Blue Devils Close Action at Windy City Classic

10/5/2021 4:27:00 PM | Women's Golf

SCORING

WILMETTE, Ill. – The Duke women's golf team closed action at the Windy City Classic at the Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill., on Tuesday and will set their sights on a local tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C., next.

The Blue Devils will head down Tobacco Road to compete in the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational Oct. 15-17 at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill.

Duke was led over the last two days in the Windy City Classic by junior Erica Shepherd and senior Gina Kim with tied for 34th finishes.

As a team, Duke placed ninth with rounds of 303, 306 and 303 for a 912. Stanford (878) took top honors, while Rose Zhang of Stanford won individually with a 212.

Shepherd, a product of Greenwood, Ind., turned in a team-best 1-over, 73, in the final round and finished with scores of 74, 81 and 73 for a 228 over 54 holes. She opened her morning with back-to-back birdies on No. 11 and No. 12. Shepherd moved to 2-under for the day by draining a putt from off the green on the 362-yard, par-4 16th. She suffered a double-bogey on No. 18 to make the turn at even par.

On the final nine, she got her putter working by draining a 30-footer for birdie on No. 1 and a 25-footer on No. 7 to get back to 1-under. She finished with a 73, after closing with a double-bogey on the final hole. Shepherd tied a career low with 27 putts in the final round.

Kim had a solid front nine on Tuesday with two birdies, two bogeys and five pars as she made the turn at even-par, 36. She collected birdies on No. 10 and No. 16 to finish with nine birdies over 54 holes. Kim, who is from Durham, N.C., struggled on the way in as she finished with a 79.

Sophomore Anne Chen turned in a final round of 77 with three birdies over her final five holes. A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Chen had a tough start to her day with a 5-over, 41, on the front and was 7-over through 12 holes. She got things turned around on the par-3 fifth hole as she hit her 7-iron from 156 yards to nine feet for birdie. After a bogey on No. 6, Chen hit her wedge from 67 yards to two feet for birdie. She added another birdie on No. 8 as she had 114 yards out on the par-5 and hit her pitching wedge to 11 feet and sank her third birdie on the back. Chen rolled 28 putts on Tuesday.

With a 1-under-par score over her final eight holes to finish the event, sophomore Phoebe Brinker had Duke's best run to close the tournament. After a front nine of 6-over, 42, Brinker opened the back with a bogey on No. 1. She posted seven pars and a birdie on No. 7 to end the day.

Junior Megan Furtney had one of Duke's best starts to her morning by draining birdies on No. 10 and No. 11. She added bogeys on No. 17 and No. 1 to drop back to even for the day, but birdied the 365-yard, par-4 fourth to get back in the red. Furtney, who is from St. Charles, Ill., closed with four straight bogeys to finish with a 75.

After missing Monday's action, freshman Rylie Heflin returned Tuesday and had a solid score of 75. She had a double-bogey to open her round, but played the next nine holes at 2-under with birdies on No. 14 and No. 17. Heflin, a product of Avondale, Pa., played the back nine at 3-over, 39, with a birdie on No. 7. She hit her 58-degree wedge from 60 yards to 10 feet and sank the putt.

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Duke Results
Erica Shepherd 74-81-73=228 (T34)
Gina Kim 78-71-79=228 (T34)
Anne Chen 75-78-77=230 (T42)
Phoebe Brinker 76-78-78=232 (T49)
Megan Furtney 79-79-75=233 (T53)
Rylie Heflin W-W-74