ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Duke men's golf freshman
Bryan Kim fired a 7-under, 65, on Saturday at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, the lowest round by any individual in the field through the first two rounds. As a team, the Blue Devils are in fifth place after a second-round, 1-under, 287, on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- As a team, the Blue Devils finished the second round at 1-under, 287 – the team's second straight under-par round in the tournament.
- Bryan Kim rolled in a total of eight birdies and only suffered one bogey en route to his 7-under, 65, on Saturday. The freshman started his day on hole No. 10 and was under-par quickly, after a birdie on the par-5 11th. Another birdie on No. 14 pushed Kim to 2-under and the Brookeville, Md., native capped off a bogey-free first nine holes with a birdie on No. 18. Two more birdies on holes No. 1 and 3 pushed Kim to 5-under. His lone bogey of the round, on No. 4, was erased immediately with a bounce-back birdie on No. 5. The best round of the tournament by any player in the field was capped off with back-to-back birdies on holes No. 8 and 9.
- Jimmy Zheng turned in a steady second round, with a 1-over, 73, that featured 14 pars and a strong closing final two holes. The senior started with a bogey on No. 10 and made the turn at 3-over following a double-bogey on the 17th. His closing nine holes started with seven pars, before consecutive birdies on the par-4 eighth and par-5 ninth helped Zheng end his round with momentum.
- Kelly Chinn dropped shots on two of his first three holes, before rolling in a birdie on the par-4 14th, but eventually made the turn to the front nine at 3-over, after a double-bogey on the 17th. Chinn took advantage of both front-nine par-5's, bookending his final nine holes with birdies on those holes en route to a second-round 2-over, 74.
- Luke Sample worked through a slow start to his second round, eventually finishing at 3-over, 75, on Saturday. The junior was 5-over walking off the 17th, his eighth hole of the round, but started to flip momentum with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Another birdie, this time on the par-4 second hole, moved Sample back to 3-over, and the New York, N.Y., native steadied himself with seven straight pars to end his round.
- Also for Duke, Ian Siebers signed for a 7-over, 79, in the second round.
NOTES
- As a team, Duke has finished under-par in six of the teams last eight rounds.
- The Blue Devils are tied for second-best on par-5's through the first two rounds, playing those holes at 15-under.
- Duke went 8-under as a team on its final nine holes to help the team's surge up the leaderboard.
- Duke's 36 birdies are third-best by any team in the field.
- Bryan Kim took advantage of the par-5's, carding birdies on all four of those holes in the second round.
- Kim and Kelly Chinn are tied for the most birdies by a Duke individual, with nine each.
- Kim, a freshman, recorded the best round of his Blue Devil career and the best round by any Duke golfer so far this season.
- Kim's 7-under is the best score-to-par by a Duke golfer since William Love finished at 9-under, 62, in the Stitch Intercollegiate during the 2022-23 season.
UP NEXT
- Duke begins its third and final round at 9:25 a.m., playing alongside Virginia and Texas A&M, and starting off the first tee.
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