AUGUSTA, Ga. – The seventh-ranked Duke women's golf team closed the Valspar Augusta Invitational with the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history on a par-72 course as the Blue Devils went on to finish second at the 6,249-yard, par-72 Forest Hills Golf Club.
The Blue Devils carded rounds of 274, 277 and 286 over the 54 holes on their way to finishing with a 27-under-par, 837. South Carolina won the event with a 30-under, 834. Florida State (847), Wake Forest (849) and Virginia Tech (862) rounded out the top five.
"We have been playing in a very wet winter and we haven't been able to get the kind of low scores that you would get in really sunny, warm conditions," said Duke head coach
Dan Brooks. "So when we finally had those sunny, warm conditions, it was great to see our training has paid off and we were able to get the low numbers."
It marked only the second time in Duke history the Blue Devils have shot better than 25-under-par in a tournament as Duke turned in a 33-under-par ledger in 2017 at the Jim West Challenge on a par-71 course.
"It shows that they are going to be able to play regardless of conditions and difficulty of course," said Brooks. "They are going to be able to adapt their games and scoring to the situation. That is a great thing to be able to say. This was no easy golf course. It is a very good golf course. They adapted well. It wasn't playing extremely long, but it meant that you had to go for pins, you had to hit to tight areas and they were doing that and getting birdies."
Duke freshman
Phoebe Brinker continued her solid weekend as she placed tied for second with a 10-under-par, 206, with rounds of 64, 71 and 71. Her score of 206 is tied for the sixth-lowest 54-hole score in Duke history on a par-72, while being tied for fifth-lowest in the Blue Devil freshman charts.
In the final round, Brinker opened with birdies on No. 3 and No. 5 as she sank an up-hill 20-foot putt and then a six-foot, left-to-right slider. She made the turn at one-over, 37, but after seven consecutive pars to open the back nine, Brinker hit her approach just short of the par-5 17th and got up-and-down for birdie to get back to even. Then on the 290-yard, par-4 18th, she hit her approach to a foot and tapped in for birdie to close the weekend. Brinker, who a native of Wilmington, Del., hit 16 greens, 10 fairways and rolled 33 putts Sunday.
"Phoebe was fantastic," said Brooks. "She is fun to watch because she hits it a mile. Just sort of enjoys herself out there. It is great to see. It is a great reminder to all of us that you will probably play your best golf if you just enjoy yourself."
As a team, the Blue Devils featured three golfers in the top six that combined to shoot 26-under-par for the weekend. Senior
Jaravee Boonchant and junior
Gina Kim each finished tied for sixth with an eight-under-par, 208.
Boonchant, who was making her 2021 Duke debut this weekend, signed for rounds of 71, 67 and 70, while collecting her 17th career top-10 finish. She also collected three straight rounds of even or under par to move her into a tie for sixth on Duke's record books along with Celine Boutier with 52 for her career.
Boonchant opened Sunday's final round with birdies on No. 2 and No. 4 to get to two-under-par through three holes. After a bogey on the sixth, Boonchant got back to two-under-par with a birdie on the par-4, 350-yard eighth hole. She closed the day with 11 straight pars to finish with a two-under, 70. Boonchant hit 16 greens, 12 fairways and had 32 putts.
Kim, who is from Chapel Hill, N.C., finished the weekend with rounds of 68, 70 and 70 for a career-best, 208. She opened the morning with a par and bogey, but got back to even with her first birdie on the 155-yard, par-3 fourth. Kim added birdies on No. 9 and No. 11, while finishing her final 16 holes bogey-free.
After carding five straight rounds of even or under par, sophomore
Erica Shepherd closed the weekend with a three-over, 75. She opened the day on hole No. 4 and was even-par through 13 holes, but suffered a bogey and double-bogey on No. 17 and No. 18 to fall to three-over-par. Shepherd, who is from Greenwood, Ind., parred the final three holes. She placed tied for 28th with a 218.
Prior to Sunday, sophomore
Megan Furtney had carded rounds of 71 and 69. She had a two-over-par day going with three birdies, including two over a span of four holes on the back nine, but closed her final two holes at five-over-par to finish with a 79. Furtney tied for 34th with a 219.
Duke led the field with a 10-under-par scoring average of 3.93 on par-4 holes for the week, was second overall with 57 birdies and second with pars with 182.
"I have never really actually gotten hung up on wins and losses nearly as much as the individual performances and the team pulling for each other, fighting hard and staying in the process of playing," said Brooks. "That all matters way more to me rather than we win or lose."
Duke will next compete in the Big Four Challenge Saturday, March 20 in Raleigh, N.C., at the Lonnie Poole Golf Couse along with Wake Forest, NC State and North Carolina.
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Duke Results
Phoebe Brinker 64-71-71=206 (-10, T2)
Jaravee Boonchant 71-67-70=208 (-8, T6)
Gina Kim 68-70-70=208 (-8, T6)
Erica Shepherd 72-71-75=218 (+2, T28)
Megan Furtney 71-69-79=219 (+3, T34)
1 2 3 Team Scores
2 2 1 South Carolina, U of 273 279 282 834 -30
3 1 2 Duke 274 277 286 837 -27
1 3 3 Florida State 270 285 292 847 -17
7 4 4 Wake Forest 287 279 283 849 -15
4 6 5 Virginia Tech 279 292 291 862 -2
6 5 6 Virginia 286 282 296 864 E
10 8 7 Purdue 292 287 286 865 +1
9 9 8 Furman 291 291 285 867 +3
8 11 9 Augusta 288 297 288 873 +9
12 12 10 Coastal Carolina 295 291 294 880 +16
5 7 T11 Louisville 285 292 305 882 +18
11 10 T11 Kent State 294 290 298 882 +18
13 13 13 South Florida 300 289 304 893 +29
15 14 14 Kennesaw State 304 295 303 902 +38
16 T15 15 Notre Dame 312 295 309 916 +52
14 T15 16 Memphis 303 304 311 918 +54
Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Pauline Roussin-Bouchard South Carolina, U of 65 69 67 201 -15
2 T2
Phoebe Brinker Duke 64 71 71 206 -10
T3 T2 Ana Pelaez South Carolina, U of 68 69 69 206 -10
T9 T4 Siyun Liu Wake Forest 70 69 68 207 -9
T6 T4 Beatrice Wallin Florida State 67 71 69 207 -9
T6 T6
Gina Kim Duke 68 70 70 208 -8
T6 T6
Jaravee Boonchant Duke 71 67 70 208 -8
T14 T6 Anna Morgan Furman 72 69 67 208 -8
T3 9 Riley Smyth Virginia 70 67 73 210 -6
T11 10 Lauren Hartlage Louisville 68 72 71 211 -5
T18 T11 Caley McGinty Kent State 71 71 70 212 -4
T14 T11 Becca DiNunzio Virginia Tech 69 72 71 212 -4
T3 T11 Charlotte Heath Florida State 65 72 75 212 -4
T14 T14 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 72 69 73 214 -2
T23 T14 Virginia Bossi Virginia 70 73 71 214 -2
T9 T14 Amelia Williamson Florida State 69 70 75 214 -2
T18 T17 Madison Moosa Furman 71 71 73 215 -1
T18 T17 Emily Mahar Virginia Tech 72 70 73 215 -1
T23 T17 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 72 71 72 215 -1
T11 T17 Paula Kirner South Carolina, U of 72 68 75 215 -1
T35 T17 Thitapa Pakdeesettakul Purdue 70 76 69 215 -1
T23 22 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 73 70 73 216 E
T30 T23 Alice Hodge Florida State 72 72 73 217 +1
T18 T23 Mary Hunt Murray Augusta 68 74 75 217 +1
T23 T23 Mathilde Claisse * South Carolina, U of 73 70 74 217 +1
T45 T23 Emilia Migliaccio Wake Forest 74 73 70 217 +1
T35 T23 Lois Kaye Go South Carolina, U of 70 76 71 217 +1
T35 T28 Inez Wanamarta Purdue 75 71 72 218 +2
T30 T28 Danielle DuToit * Purdue 73 71 74 218 +2
T45 T28 Keera Foocharoen Virginia Tech 72 75 71 218 +2
T30 T28 Sifat Sagoo Purdue 73 71 74 218 +2
T23 T28
Erica Shepherd Duke 72 71 75 218 +2
T18 T28 Taylor Roberts Florida State 69 73 76 218 +2
T11 T34
Megan Furtney Duke 71 69 79 219 +3
T23 T34 Alyssa Montgomery Virginia Tech 66 77 76 219 +3
T45 T34 Teresa Diez-Moliner Augusta 73 74 72 219 +3
T14 T37 Hana Ryskova Louisville 71 70 79 220 +4
T59 T37 Kan Bunnabodee Purdue 76 73 71 220 +4
T23 T37 Pimnipa Panthong South Carolina, U of 70 73 77 220 +4
T52 T40 Napabhach Boon-In Augusta 74 74 73 221 +5
T35 T40 Elle Johnson * Florida State 69 77 75 221 +5
T52 T40 Nicole Page Augusta 73 75 73 221 +5
T35 T40 Kory Nielsen Kent State 75 71 75 221 +5
T35 T40 Chloe Salort * Kent State 75 71 75 221 +5
T45 T45 Tiffany Arafi Coastal Carolina 77 70 75 222 +6
T73 T45 Caitlin Evans-Brand Coastal Carolina 80 72 70 222 +6
T33 T45 Beth Lillie Virginia 75 70 77 222 +6
T35 T45 Shelby Brauckmuller South Florida 73 73 76 222 +6
T33 T45 Nicole Abelar Coastal Carolina 71 74 77 222 +6
T35 T50 Alizee Vidal Kennesaw State 76 70 77 223 +7
T73 T50 Sarah-Eve Rheaume Furman 74 78 71 223 +7
T59 T50 Frantiska Lunackova Coastal Carolina 74 75 74 223 +7
T52 T50 Sarah Spicer * Virginia Tech 74 74 75 223 +7
T59 T50 Carly Burkhardt Furman 76 73 74 223 +7
T59 T50 Marissa Kirkwood Kent State 71 78 74 223 +7
T52 T56 Julia Matzat Memphis 78 70 76 224 +8
T45 T56 Melanie Green South Florida 75 72 77 224 +8
T64 T58 Celeste Valinho Virginia 72 78 75 225 +9
T52 T58 Jessica Whitting South Florida 75 73 77 225 +9
T64 T58 Bella Kil Kennesaw State 76 74 75 225 +9
T69 T58 Meva Schmit Kennesaw State 77 74 74 225 +9
T64 T58 Sophia Carlsen Coastal Carolina 73 77 75 225 +9
T52 T58 Letizia Bagnoli * Wake Forest 73 75 77 225 +9
T64 T64 Mairead Martin Louisville 73 77 76 226 +10
T64 T64 Jessica Spicer Virginia Tech 75 75 76 226 +10
T69 T64 Kaiyuree Moodley * South Carolina, U of 73 78 75 226 +10
T45 T64 M. Agustina Gomez Cisterna Louisville 73 74 79 226 +10
T45 T64 Valentina Albertazzi Kent State 77 70 79 226 +10
T35 T64 Ashley Kozlowski Purdue 74 72 80 226 +10
T35 T64 Jennifer Cleary Virginia 74 72 80 226 +10
T52 71 Ashley Zagers South Florida 77 71 79 227 +11
T80 T72 Erika Smith South Florida 79 75 74 228 +12
T78 T72 Lauren Beaudreau Notre Dame 78 75 75 228 +12
T69 T72 Madelyn Jones Notre Dame 77 74 77 228 +12
T69 T75 Abby Herrmann Memphis 75 76 78 229 +13
T59 T75 Abby Heck Notre Dame 76 73 80 229 +13
86 T77 Charlotte Alran Augusta 82 78 70 230 +14
T73 T77 Sophia Burnett Furman 74 78 78 230 +14
T80 79 Claire Albrecht Notre Dame 81 73 77 231 +15
T73 T80 Margot Bechadergue Louisville 76 76 80 232 +16
T83 T80 Victoria England Memphis 76 80 76 232 +16
82 T80 Tori Owens Kennesaw State 78 77 77 232 +16
T78 T80 Lara Jecnik Kennesaw State 75 78 79 232 +16
T73 84 Rebecca Brink Memphis 74 78 81 233 +17
T83 85 Caitlin Cotterill * Furman 78 78 79 235 +19
88 T86 Jessica Meyers Notre Dame 85 79 81 245 +29
87 T86 Ana Dawson Memphis 78 84 83 245 +29
85 88 Olivia Patrow * Augusta 78 81 87 246 +30
89 - Emily Price Kent State D D D - -