Shepherd Paces Blue Devils in Season Opener in South Carolina

Sunday, February 21

Kiawah Island, S.C. (Turtle Point Golf Club)

Duke University

Palmetto Spring Intercollegiate

Photo by: Tim Cowie

Shepherd Paces Blue Devils in Season Opener in South Carolina

2/21/2021 9:25:00 PM | Women's Golf

Live Scoring

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Duke sophomore Erica Shepherd paced the Blue Devil women's golf team in their opening rounds of the 2021 campaign as she carded one of only seven under-par rounds on Sunday at the Palmetto Intercollegiate.

Shepherd, who hails from Greenwood, Ind., posted scores of 71 and 75 for a 36-hole ledger of 146, which is third overall and only two strokes off the individual lead at the 6,021-yard, Par 72 Turtle Point Golf Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.

In the first round Sunday morning, Shepherd parred the first four holes, before suffering bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6. She then parred five consecutive holes, before catching fire. Shepherd drained a 12-footer for birdie on the 345-yard, par four 12th for the first red number of the day. She then sank a five-foot putt for birdie on the 338-yard, par four 15th to get back to even. After missing the fairway on No. 18, Shepherd stuck her approach to eight feet and drained her third birdie of the morning to finish with a one-under-par, 71, which ranked second after 18 holes.

Shepherd kept her momentum going into the second round in the afternoon with 10 consecutive pars to open action. She then birdied back-to-back holes at No. 11 and No. 12 to take over the individual lead. Shepherd, a candidate for the ANNIKA Award, collected birdie putts of four feet and nine feet, respectively, to get to three-under-par for the tournament. She dropped to two-under-par with a bogey on No. 14. After birding hole No. 18 in round one earlier in the day, Shepherd struggled on the way in with an eight to drop to a three-over-par, 75, in the second round. She closed the day with a team-best 27 putts.

East Carolina's Dorthea Forbrigd leads the field with an even-par, 144, with rounds of 71 and 73.

Making her Duke debut Sunday, freshman Anne Chen signed for rounds of 76 and 77 for a ledger of 153, which is tied for 23rd overall.

In her opening round, Chen parred her first collegiate hole and then collected her first birdie on the 349-yard, par four third hole. She went on to shoot a four-over-par, 76, in round one. Chen, who is from Sugar Land, Texas, registered a team-best four birdies in the second round on her way to carding a 77. She notched birdies on No. 5, No. 8, No. 13 and No. 15.

Megan Furtney opened her sophomore campaign with two birdies on her way to posting a 78 in round one. She registered her first birdie on the 356-yard, par four sixth hole as she hit a wedge from 87 yards to two feet and sank the putt. Furtney, who is from St. Charles, Ill., then drained a 14-footer for birdie as well.

In round two, Furtney bogied hole No. 1, but then went bogey-free for seven holes. She closed the front nine with a bogey to make the turn with a two-over, 38. On the back, she posted her first collegiate eagle on the 477-yard, par five 13th. Furtney used a 60-degree wedge from 35 yards and holed out for the eagle. She finished the day with four-over, 76. Furtney is tied for 27th with a 154 heading into Monday's final round.

Junior Gina Kim opened her third season with the Blue Devils with a 77, after being held without a birdie over her first 18 holes. The Chapel Hill, N.C., native signed for a 78 in round two, which included a birdie on the par five fifth hole. She is tied for 30th with a 155.

Also making her Duke debut Sunday was freshman Phoebe Brinker. She collected rounds of 79 and 78 and is tied for 36th with a 157. A product of Wilmington, Del., Brinker got her putter rolling for two birdies in the first round, a 20-footer on No. 8 and a 15-footer on No. 12. In the second round, she added two more birdies – from 10 feet on No. 5 and four feet on No. 10.

Duke enters the final round in a tie for third, after posting rounds of 302 and 306 for a 608. Wake Forest (587) leads the action with East Carolina (603) second. The Blue Devils are tied with Virginia (608). College of Charleston, North Carolina and Indiana did not finish its second rounds due to darkness and will return to the course at 8 a.m., Monday.

The final round will open at 9:08 a.m., for the Blue Devils off hole No. 1. Live scoring will be available at www.GolfStat.com.

For more information on Duke women's golf, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWGolf".

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Duke Results
Erica Shepherd 71-75=146 (3, +2)
Anne Chen 76-77=153 (T23, +9)
Megan Furtney 78-76=154 (T27, +10)
Gina Kim 77-78=155 (T30, +11)
Phoebe Brinker 79-78=157 (T36, +13)