Shepherd, Kim Place in Top 5; Blue Devils Finish 2nd at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

Wednesday, September 15

Lake Elmo, Minn. (Royal Golf Club)

Duke University

Annika Intercollegiate

Photo by: Lindy Brown, Duke Communications

Shepherd, Kim Place in Top 5; Blue Devils Finish 2nd at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

9/15/2021 7:11:00 PM | Women's Golf

SCORING BROOKS INTERVIEW SHEPHERD INTERVIEW GALLERY

LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Against a stacked field in the 2021-22 season opener, the second-ranked Duke women's golf team turned in a runner-up finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate as the Blue Devils fired a 7-under-par, 857, at the 6,410-yard, par-72 Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn.

The Blue Devils turned in rounds of 285, 288 and 284 over the three days to finish seven strokes behind South Carolina (850). Wake Forest (859), Alabama (863), Texas (864), Arizona (866), Southern California (867), Arizona State (869), Ole Miss (871) and UCLA (882) rounded out the top 10 teams. The field included 10 teams listed in the top-16 of the preseason Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) rankings.

"First of all, hats off to South Carolina," said Duke head coach Dan Brooks. "They just played great and never let up. Every time they would give a little bit, they would make another run. I am proud of my team. They fought hard. They played some really good golf on a hard golf course. We just didn't come out with the win."

Duke junior Erica Shepherd and senior Gina Kim carded top-5 finishes in the opener as they combined to shoot 11-under-par. Shepherd placed fourth overall with rounds of 68, 72 and 70 for a 6-under, 210, while Kim was tied for fifth with rounds of 70, 70 and 71 for a 5-under, 211. The duo finished the week with 13 birdies, which tied for fourth overall.

On Wednesday, Shepherd opened her day with a par, bogey and then she sank a 3-foot putt for birdie on the 321-yard, par-4 third hole. After five pars, she made the turn with her second birdie of the day on No. 9 as she rolled it in from four feet. After four pars and a bogey to open the back, Shepherd closed strong with a 2-under score over her final five holes. She hit her approach tight on the 296-yard, par-4 15th and drained the 3-foot birdie to get in the red for the day. Shepherd, a native of Greenwood, Ind., added an 11-foot birdie on No. 17 to finish the day with a 2-under, 70. She hit 13 fairways, 14 greens and had 31 putts on the day.

"Today, I didn't have my best at really anything, but just to have my short game save me and know that is always there if I need it and just have confidence in that I think that can carry you far in golf," said Shepherd. "I am super excited. This is a great start to the season. The girls are doing well, the whole team, we are having a good time and playing some good golf. It is going to be a good year."

The top-5 finish marked the second of her Blue Devil career and the 54-hole ledger of 210 was one shy of a career low for Shepherd.

A product of Durham, N.C., Kim carded a team-best five birdies in the final round on her way to finishing with a 71. She kicked off her day with a 10-foot birdie on No. 3, but then struggled to close the front nine with three bogeys over a span of five holes. Kim turned it around on the back nine with three birdies over a span of four holes. She hit her pitching wedge from 107 yards on No. 10 to three feet for birdie to get things started. Kim then rolled in a 21-footer for birdie on No. 11 and 8-footer for birdie on No. 13 to get to 1-under. She suffered a 3-putt bogey on No. 16, but came back to sink a 15-foot birdie on No. 17 to get back in the red. Kim hit 14 greens, 14 fairways and had 31 putts in the round.

Kim now owns 34 career rounds of even or under par and five 12 top-10 finishes in her Duke career.

Sophomore Anne Chen closed the week with a career-low 3-under, 69, on her way to placing in the top-10 for the second time as a Blue Devil. She posted rounds of 72, 73 and 69 over three days for a 2-under, 214. Chen, who is from Sugar Land, Texas, opened the day with six pars and then hit a half 5-iron from 170 yards to a foot and sank the birdie. After a bogey on No. 8, Chen closed the event with a 3-under ledger over her final 10 holes. She sank back-to-back 13-foot birdies on No. 12 and No. 13 to get to 2-under. Chen then hit her approach on the par-5 18th into the greenside bunker and drained the 6-foot birdie to finish 3-under. She hit 14 greens, 13 fairways and rolled a team-best 28 putts.

With rounds of 76, 73 and 74, sophomore Phoebe Brinker placed tied for 37th with a 7-over, 223. The product of Wilmington, Del., had Duke's first birdie of the day on the par-5 second hole by rolling in a 20-foot birdie. She went on to suffer three bogeys over a span of four holes, but settled down to play the final 11 holes at even par. Brinker turned in an impressive birdie on the 400-yard, par-4 13th as she hit her 54-degree wedge from 105 yards to two feet after hitting the pin on the fly. She hit 12 greens, 10 fairways and had 32 putts in the final round.

In her first collegiate event as a Blue Devil, freshman Rylie Heflin closed in a tie for 51st with a 229. She signed for rounds of 75, 76 and 78 over the last three days. After a 5-over front nine, Heflin drained a 15-foot birdie on No. 10 and sank a key 15-foot par putt on No. 12. She then hit her 58-degree wedge from 81 yards on No. 15 to three feet for birdie. She hit 11 greens, 11 fairways and had 33 putts.

The Blue Devils led the field with a 4.03 scoring average on par-4 holes and finished the week with 49 birdies, which was third overall.

Duke will next compete in the Windy City Collegiate Oct. 4-5 at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill.

#GoDuke

Duke Results
T4 4 Erica Shepherd Duke 68 72 70 210 -6
T4 T5 Gina Kim Duke 70 70 71 211 -5
T17 T10 Anne Chen Duke 72 73 69 214 -2
T38 T37 Phoebe Brinker Duke 76 73 74 223 +7
T45 T51 Rylie Heflin Duke 75 76 78 229 +13

1 2 3 Team Scores
1 1 1 South Carolina, U of 278 288 284 850 -14
2 3 2 Duke 285 288 284 857 -7
3 2 3 Wake Forest 286 286 287 859 -5
T8 4 4 Alabama 291 284 288 863 -1
T8 5 5 Texas 291 291 282 864 E
10 6 6 Arizona 292 291 283 866 +2
T4 7 7 Southern California 287 297 283 867 +3
T4 10 8 Arizona State 287 300 282 869 +5
7 T8 9 Ole Miss 290 295 286 871 +7
T4 T8 10 UCLA 287 298 297 882 +18
11 11 11 LSU 297 293 295 885 +21
12 12 12 Minnesota, U. of 305 297 300 902 +38

Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Julia Johnson Ole Miss 67 67 70 204 -12
T2 2 Hannah Darling South Carolina, U of 66 73 66 205 -11
T6 3 Cindy Kou Southern California 68 73 67 208 -8
T4 4 Erica Shepherd Duke 68 72 70 210 -6
T4 T5 Gina Kim Duke 70 70 71 211 -5
T6 T5 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 71 70 70 211 -5
T9 7 YuSang Hou Arizona 68 74 70 212 -4
T6 T8 Polly Mack Alabama 74 67 72 213 -3
T9 T8 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 69 73 71 213 -3
T20 T10 Bohyun Park Texas 73 73 68 214 -2
T17 T10 Ingrid Lindblad LSU 72 73 69 214 -2
T17 T10 Anne Chen Duke 72 73 69 214 -2
T14 T13 Benedetta Moresco Alabama 68 76 71 215 -1
T2 T13 Calynne Rosholt Arizona State 69 70 76 215 -1
T14 T15 Lilas Pinthier Arizona 72 72 72 216 E
T20 T15 Alexandra Forsterling Arizona State 70 76 70 216 E
T11 T15 Sara Kouskova Texas 70 73 73 216 E
T32 T18 Sophie Guo Texas 74 73 70 217 +1
T20 T18 Worapitcha Anudit South Carolina, U of 68 78 71 217 +1
T35 T20 Vivian Hou Arizona 74 74 70 218 +2
T20 T20 Louise Rydqvist South Carolina, U of 73 73 72 218 +2
T35 T20 Brianna Navarrosa Southern California 75 73 70 218 +2
T11 T20 Mathilde Claisse South Carolina, U of 73 70 75 218 +2
T14 T20 Katherine Muzi Southern California 69 75 74 218 +2
T20 T25 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 76 70 73 219 +3
T20 T25 Smilla Sonderby Ole Miss 74 72 73 219 +3
T20 T25 Caroline Canales UCLA 69 77 73 219 +3
T38 T28 Gile Bite Starkute Arizona 78 71 71 220 +4
T32 T28 Emilie Overas Alabama 72 75 73 220 +4
T38 T28 Geraldine Wong Minnesota, U. of 73 76 71 220 +4
T20 T28 Ty Akabane UCLA 72 74 74 220 +4
T20 T28 Emma Spitz UCLA 73 73 74 220 +4
T43 T33 Bentley Cotton Texas 75 75 71 221 +5
T38 T33 Angelica Moresco Alabama 77 72 72 221 +5
T45 T33 Amanda Linner Arizona State 73 78 70 221 +5
T17 36 Carolina Lopez-Chacarra Wake Forest 72 73 77 222 +6
50 T37 Ashley Menne Arizona State 77 76 70 223 +7
T20 T37 Brigitte Thibault Texas 74 72 77 223 +7
T20 T37 Carla Tejedo Mulet LSU 72 74 77 223 +7
T20 T37 Joanne Free Minnesota, U. of 76 70 77 223 +7
T38 T37 Phoebe Brinker Duke 76 73 74 223 +7
T45 T42 Virunpat Olankitkunchai Wake Forest 74 77 73 224 +8
T35 T42 Zoe Campos UCLA 73 75 76 224 +8
T38 T44 Sarah Edwards Alabama 79 70 76 225 +9
49 T44 Christine Wang Southern California 75 77 73 225 +9
T32 T44 Ellen Hume Ole Miss 71 76 78 225 +9
T51 T47 Alessandra Fanali Arizona State 75 79 72 226 +10
T43 T47 Elsa Svensson LSU 77 73 76 226 +10
T58 T47 Andrea Lignell Ole Miss 78 80 68 226 +10
T51 50 Alexa Melton Southern California 78 76 73 227 +11
56 T51 Latanna Stone LSU 83 73 73 229 +13
T45 T51 Rylie Heflin Duke 75 76 78 229 +13
T11 T51 Justine Fournand South Carolina, U of 71 72 86 229 +13
T53 54 Maya Benita Arizona 78 77 76 231 +15
T45 55 Emma Carpenter Minnesota, U. of 77 74 81 232 +16
57 56 Grace Curran Minnesota, U. of 79 78 76 233 +17
T58 57 Leah Herzog Minnesota, U. of 81 77 76 234 +18
T53 T58 Lauren Clark LSU 76 79 81 236 +20
T53 T58 Simar Singh UCLA 79 76 81 236 +20
60 60 McKinley Cunningham Ole Miss 81 81 75 237 +21