Upcoming Event: Men's Golf versus The Bryson Invitational on October 13, 2025
Men's Golf
vs The Bryson Invitational
%20(1).png&width=24&height=24&type=webp)
Saturday, September 11
Durham, N.C.
Duke University
vs
Rounds 1 & 2 Rod Myers Invitational
Photo by: Andy Mead
Strong Second Round Boosts Duke Saturday at the RMI
9/11/2021 8:56:00 PM | Men's Golf
DURHAM – Paced by sophomore Jimmy Zheng, the Duke men's golf team shot seven-under par through 36 holes on Saturday and sits tied for fourth after the first day of the Rod Myers Invitational at the Duke University Golf Club.
The Blue Devils began Saturday by tying for seventh over the opening 18 holes, before putting together a team round of 280 (-8) in the afternoon. No. 4 North Carolina holds an eight-stroke lead over the field at 25-under, shooting 274 and 277 for a full-day total of 551. NC State enters Sunday in second at 17-under, while North Florida moved up from sixth to third in the team standings at 8-under. The Tar Heels turned in a 14-under 274 in the morning round, tying Duke and Vanderbilt in 2017 for the low team round in the tournament's 11-year history.
Zheng followed up his even-par 72 in the opening round with a six-under 66 in the afternoon for a 138 total and heads into Sunday's final round tied for fourth individually. The Auckland, New Zealand native, teed off at No. 7 in the second round and was three-under through his first nine holes before he birdied four of his next five to shoot up the leaderboard.
"Today was a good day," said Zheng. "I played solid and was able to limit my mistakes. I tried to keep myself composed, which allowed me to be aggressive and make confident choices. Overall, I thought my putting and ball striking was solid and I look forward to keeping that going tomorrow."
On the individual leaderboard, Zheng is five strokes off the pace set by North Carolina's Ryan Gerard at 11-under par.
"'I'm certainly proud of Jimmy and great to see him in the mix near the top of the leaderboard," said head coach Jamie Green. "We loved to see that in his eyes this afternoon. He had the look of a dominant prize fighter."
Playing as an individual, senior Quinn Riley posted a pair of under-par rounds with a 69 in the morning and a 70 in the afternoon. The Raleigh, N.C., native is five-under 139 for the tournament and tied for ninth through 36 holes. Riley bogeyed his opening hole of the afternoon at No. 8, but found his footing with back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 before recording six straight pars.
Sophomore Ian Siebers enters Sunday tied for 14th after carding rounds of 71 and 69 for a four-under 140. Rebounding from a three-over 75 in the morning round, freshman Luke Sample signed for a 70 in the afternoon that included an eagle on the par-5 14th hole. Sample jumped from a 49th-place standing after the opening round to 25th with 18 holes to play.
Fellow freshman Kelly Chinn opened with a one-under 71 before carding a three-over 75 to tie for 31st, the same position in the field as sophomore Cameron Martinez-Piedra (71-75=153), who is playing individually. Freshman John Peters shot a nine-over 153 through 36 holes and rounded out Duke's lineup tied for 65th, while sophomore Daniel Uranga (77-80) and graduate student Qi wen Wong (79-78) are tied for 75th playing as individuals.
Duke shaved nine strokes off its first-round score of 1-over 289 with the 280 in the afternoon and enters the final round tied with Virginia Tech -- nine strokes back of the second-place Wolfpack.
"I'm really proud of the way we competed today, and especially the way we finished," said Green. "If you're going to post a solid score on the second round of a 36-hole day you have to maintain a consistent and strong level of energy, physically and mentally, for 10-plus hours. Our players did just that, and that's success. They made some birdies on and solid pars on some of the tougher holes down the stretch and it's great to see this squad finish strong like that. The course is in fantastic shape and tomorrow should be a really fun day."
Sunday's final round begins at 7:35 a.m. with tee times off both the No. 1 and No. 10 tees. The Blue Devils are off the first tee beginning at 8:26 a.m.. and paired with Virginia Tech and UNC Greensboro.
T4 of 14. Duke (289-280=569, -7)
T4. Jimmy Zheng (72-66=138, -6)
T9. Quinn Riley* (69-70=139, -5)
T14. Ian Siebers (71-69=140, -4)
T25. Luke Sample (75-70=145, +1)
T31. Kelly Chinn (71-75=146, +2)
T31. Cameron Martinez-Piedra* (71-75=146, +2)
T65. John Peters (75-78=153, +9)
T75. Daniel Uranga* (77-80=157, +13)
T75. Qi wen Wong* (79-78=157, +13)
*playing as individual
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils began Saturday by tying for seventh over the opening 18 holes, before putting together a team round of 280 (-8) in the afternoon. No. 4 North Carolina holds an eight-stroke lead over the field at 25-under, shooting 274 and 277 for a full-day total of 551. NC State enters Sunday in second at 17-under, while North Florida moved up from sixth to third in the team standings at 8-under. The Tar Heels turned in a 14-under 274 in the morning round, tying Duke and Vanderbilt in 2017 for the low team round in the tournament's 11-year history.
Zheng followed up his even-par 72 in the opening round with a six-under 66 in the afternoon for a 138 total and heads into Sunday's final round tied for fourth individually. The Auckland, New Zealand native, teed off at No. 7 in the second round and was three-under through his first nine holes before he birdied four of his next five to shoot up the leaderboard.
"Today was a good day," said Zheng. "I played solid and was able to limit my mistakes. I tried to keep myself composed, which allowed me to be aggressive and make confident choices. Overall, I thought my putting and ball striking was solid and I look forward to keeping that going tomorrow."
On the individual leaderboard, Zheng is five strokes off the pace set by North Carolina's Ryan Gerard at 11-under par.
"'I'm certainly proud of Jimmy and great to see him in the mix near the top of the leaderboard," said head coach Jamie Green. "We loved to see that in his eyes this afternoon. He had the look of a dominant prize fighter."
Playing as an individual, senior Quinn Riley posted a pair of under-par rounds with a 69 in the morning and a 70 in the afternoon. The Raleigh, N.C., native is five-under 139 for the tournament and tied for ninth through 36 holes. Riley bogeyed his opening hole of the afternoon at No. 8, but found his footing with back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 before recording six straight pars.
Sophomore Ian Siebers enters Sunday tied for 14th after carding rounds of 71 and 69 for a four-under 140. Rebounding from a three-over 75 in the morning round, freshman Luke Sample signed for a 70 in the afternoon that included an eagle on the par-5 14th hole. Sample jumped from a 49th-place standing after the opening round to 25th with 18 holes to play.
Fellow freshman Kelly Chinn opened with a one-under 71 before carding a three-over 75 to tie for 31st, the same position in the field as sophomore Cameron Martinez-Piedra (71-75=153), who is playing individually. Freshman John Peters shot a nine-over 153 through 36 holes and rounded out Duke's lineup tied for 65th, while sophomore Daniel Uranga (77-80) and graduate student Qi wen Wong (79-78) are tied for 75th playing as individuals.
Duke shaved nine strokes off its first-round score of 1-over 289 with the 280 in the afternoon and enters the final round tied with Virginia Tech -- nine strokes back of the second-place Wolfpack.
"I'm really proud of the way we competed today, and especially the way we finished," said Green. "If you're going to post a solid score on the second round of a 36-hole day you have to maintain a consistent and strong level of energy, physically and mentally, for 10-plus hours. Our players did just that, and that's success. They made some birdies on and solid pars on some of the tougher holes down the stretch and it's great to see this squad finish strong like that. The course is in fantastic shape and tomorrow should be a really fun day."
Sunday's final round begins at 7:35 a.m. with tee times off both the No. 1 and No. 10 tees. The Blue Devils are off the first tee beginning at 8:26 a.m.. and paired with Virginia Tech and UNC Greensboro.
T4 of 14. Duke (289-280=569, -7)
T4. Jimmy Zheng (72-66=138, -6)
T9. Quinn Riley* (69-70=139, -5)
T14. Ian Siebers (71-69=140, -4)
T25. Luke Sample (75-70=145, +1)
T31. Kelly Chinn (71-75=146, +2)
T31. Cameron Martinez-Piedra* (71-75=146, +2)
T65. John Peters (75-78=153, +9)
T75. Daniel Uranga* (77-80=157, +13)
T75. Qi wen Wong* (79-78=157, +13)
*playing as individual
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Favorite Animal? ft Duke Women's Golf
Tuesday, April 01
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
A Century of Blue Devil Brilliance
Saturday, October 19
ACC Championship Day 1
Friday, April 21
