DURHAM — With the year of 2023 approaching, let's look back at a very successful 2022 with the Duke women's golf program, which included
Phoebe Brinker winning the ACC Individual Championship. Below are the top moments from 2022.
Phoebe Brinker Wins ACC Individual Championship
Duke's
Phoebe Brinker became the 15th Blue Devil in school history to win an ACC Championship as she carded an impressive 54-hole ledger of 10-under-par, 206, over the past two days at the 6,212-yard, Par-72 The Reserve Golf Club in Pawley's Island, S.C.
Brinker equaled former Duke standout Gina Kim's 10-under-par, 206, from a year ago for the Blue Devils' lowest 54-hole score in ACC action. The win for Brinker was her first collegiate victory and it marked the 16th time a Blue Devil has won the ACC individual crown over the past 23 championships.
A native of Wilmington, Del., Brinker notched rounds of 70, 65 and 71 for a 10-under, 206, finishing six strokes ahead of Duke teammate
Erica Shepherd, who turned in rounds of 75, 68 and 69 for a 4-under, 212. Brinker and Shepherd were two of only three golfers on the day to shoot under par.
Furtney Wins Illinois State Women's Amateur Championship
Duke senior
Megan Furtney claimed the Illinois State Women's Amateur Championship in June with a 2UP victory over Minnesota's Grace Curran at The Grove Country Club in Long Grove, Ill.
It marked the first victory for Furtney in the Illinois State Women's Amateur Championship.
In the semifinals, Furtney collected a win over Gracie Piar in 19 holes, while knocking off Maria Perakis (6&5) in the quarterfinals, Millie Lawson (2&1) in the round of 16 and Molly Lyne (3&2) in the round of 32. Furtney turned in a 1-under-par, 71, in qualifying to finish tied for second.
LeBrun helps U.S. to Curtis Cup Win
Duke graduate Sarah LeBrun Ingram captained the United States for the second straight year and helped lead the squad to yet another victory over Great Britain & Ireland, 15 ½ to 4 1/2, at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Penn.
Since 1992, the Blue Devils have had at least one representative in the Curtis Cup, and in 15 of the 16 times it has been contested.
Shepherd Cards 3-1 Ledger at Arnold Palmer Cup
Duke senior
Erica Shepherd turned in a 3-1 record over three days of competition at the Arnold Palmer Cup in Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, but the United States dropped a 33-27 decision to the International squad at the Golf Club de Geneve.
Shepherd, a native of Greenwood, Ind., opened the event with three straight wins to help position the United States with an 18-18 tie heading into Sunday's singles. In two career appearances in the Arnold Palmer Cup, Shepherd has now collected an impressive 6-2 ledger. She helped the United States to the 33-27 victory a year ago.
Four Blue Devils Earn LPGA Tour Cards
Duke 2022 graduate Gina Kim earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2023 campaign as she finished with $82,133 earnings to place eighth on the Epson Tour money list. Kim, a product of Durham, N.C., turned in her first professional win at the Inova Mission Inn Resort & Club Championship and added seven additional top-20 results on the Epson Tour this season. She also competed in 12 LPGA events.
Following a long two weeks of LPGA Tour Q-Series, a trio of Duke women's golfers – Ana Belac, Jaravee Boonchant and Lindy Duncan -- earned their 2023 LPGA Tour card after finishing in the top-45 at the Highland Oakes Golf Course in Dothan, Ala. The trio earned LPGA Tour status in category 15 and Epson Tour status in category C for the 2023 campaign.
Hannemann, Blumenherst & Brooks Inducted into Hall of Fames
Former Duke women's golf National Player of the Year, Candy Hannemann, was inducted into the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Players Hall of Fame at Planet Hollywood Resort in December.
A four-time All-ACC selection, Hannemann helped lead Duke to two NCAA Championships, including the program's first national title in 1999. She guided the Blue Devils to four ACC Championships and an impressive 33 team wins over her four seasons in Durham.
In December, Amanda Blumenherst was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.
One of the top collegiate golfers in NCAA history, Blumenherst rewrote the Duke record book over her four-year career. A three-time National Player of the Year and four-time All-American, Blumenherst collected school records for victories (12), top-five finishes (31) and top-10 finishes (37) among others. Blumenherst became the first NCAA women's golfer to win three National Player of the Year and GolfStat Awards.
She helped lead Duke to three ACC Championships, two NCAA titles and 19 team victories over her career. The Scottsdale, Ariz., product won the ACC Individual title three times and placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship in each of her four seasons with the Blue Devils. Internationally, she represented the United States in the 2006 and 2008 Curtis Cup competitions, while also winning the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. Following graduation, Blumenherst played professionally on the LPGA Tour from 2009-13 and currently works for the Golf Channel as a television analyst.
Duke head coach
Dan Brooks was inducted into yet another Hall of Fame in April as the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame enshrined the seven-time national champion in Raleigh, N.C.
Birdies for Babies Program Surpasses $100,000
In the sixth year of Birdies for Babies, the Blue Devils reached the $100,000-mark in earnings, which benefits the Duke Children's Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. In November, both the men's and women's golf programs gathered at the Duke Children's Hospital and a room was dedicated to the Birdies for Babies program.
Six years ago, former women's golf national champion Virginia Elena Carta created the program with the help of George Grody and the Duke Children's Hospital. The program reached $100,000, after raising $10,665 this fall.
Those looking to support Duke's partnership with Duke Children's can make pledges per birdie. Pledges will start at $0.50 and high pledge increments are welcome. If the Blue Devils register an eagle (counts as two birdies), albatross (three birdies) and hole-in-one (four birdies) they will count as stated.
Boonchant, Kim, Wang & Maguire Win Professionally
Jaravee Boonchant, who hails from Bangkok, Thailand, turned in a very impressive Epson Tour record 23-under-par, 265, to win the Epson Tour Championship in October. She shot 67, 64, 68 and 66 over the four days without committing a bogey. Boonchant, a 2021 Duke graduate, rolled in a birdie on her final hole to finish one shot ahead of Riley Rennell (266) and claim her first win on the Epson Tour.
Coming off claiming her second victory of the season on the Women's All Pro Tour (WAPT) on Saturday, former Duke women's golfer Miranda Wang was named the 2022 WAPT Player of the Year and received an exemption into LPGA Tour Stage II Qualifying School.
Wang, a 2019 Blue Devil graduate, fired back-to-back rounds of 68 on Friday and Saturday on her way to posting an 11-under-par, 277, to win the Beaumont Emergency Hospital Bab Zaharias Open at the Beaumont Country Club in Beaumont, Texas. She won by three strokes over Julie Aime. With the victory, Wang received a check of $15,000 and finished the season with a tour-best $39,325.00 earnings.
An even-par 73 in the final round of the Inova Mission Inn Resort & Club Championship was enough for Duke's Gina Kim to secure her first professional win on in May. The 2022 Epson Tour rookie finished at 11-under par to go wire-to-wire on the El Campeón Championship Course at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Former Duke women's golf standout Leona Maguire collected her first LPGA victory in February at the LPGA Drive on Championship, held at the Crown Colony Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla.
Maguire is the first native of Ireland to win on the LPGA Tour and earned a paycheck of $225,000. With rounds of 66, 65 and 67, Maguire finished the 54 holes of action with an 18-under, 198, to win by three strokes over Lexi Thompson (201). Fellow Duke graduate Celine Boutier collected her third straight top-20 finish to open the season with rounds of 70, 67 and 70 for a 9-under, 207.
Shepherd Finishes as Low-Amateur at Epson Tour Event
For the fifth time in her career, Duke's
Erica Shepherd carded low amateur accolades as she closed the Epson Tour's Carolina Golf Classic in June at the Kinston Country Club in Kinston, N.C.
Shepherd, who hails from Greenwood, Ind., turned in rounds of 68, 72, 72 and 71 for a 1-under-par, 283, to finish tied for 45th. She was one of only three amateur golfers to make the cut.
It marked the second Epson Tour event she has competed in and the eighth professional tournament she has seen action in.
Brinker, Smith Help in AJGA Fundraisers
Junior
Phoebe Brinker hosted the Impact Cup for the second straight year and helped raise $100,000 this past year and $40,000 the year before, which benefitted the Generation Next Project and the AJGA's ACE Grant Program.
Freshman
Andie Smith hosted the Atlantic Cup for the second year in a row and raised $45,000 in 2022. Over the last two years, Smith has helped raise over $100,000 to benefit Charity Water and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) ACE Grant Program.
Chen Wins Individual Title at Chattanooga Classic
Duke's
Anne Chen carded a career-low 6-under-par, 66, in March to close the Chattanooga Classic on her way to finishing the 54 holes with a career-best 9-under-par, 207, to claim the individual title at the 6,234-yard, par-72 Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The win for Chen was her first as a Blue Devil and the first individual title for the Duke team in 2021-22. Her bogey-free round of 66 and her 54-hole score of 9-under, 207, were both tournament records.
Trailing by two strokes heading into the final round, Chen had things dialed in from the beginning as she parred the first two holes and then rolled in an 8-footer for birdie on No. 3. After two more pars, she took control of the leaderboard as she drained a 6-foot birdie on the sixth hole, parred No. 7 and then collected back-to-back birdies. On No. 8, she sank an 18-footer for birdie and then hit her pitching wedge from 106 yards on No. 9 to three feet for birdie.
Chen, who is from Sugar Land, Texas, made the turn at 4-under, 32, and had the individual lead. She was solid on the back nine with seven pars and two birdies. On the 521-yard, par-5 11th, Chen hit her 3-hybrid from 223 yards to the side of the green. She putted from off the fringe to two feet for birdie and finished it off to move to 5-under. Chen closed the day with her sixth birdie as she hit her 3-wood from 237 yards to the front of the green, putted from the fringe to three feet for birdie. She tied a career best with 17 greens, 12 fairways and rolled 29 putts on the final day.
It marked her first bogey-free round of Chen's collegiate career. Chen won the tournament by five strokes ahead of East Carolina's Kathryn Carson and UTSA's Ana Gonzalez (212).