Blue Devils Shoot 12-Under to Open Windy City Collegiate

Monday, October 2

Golf, Ill.

Duke University

Windy City Collegiate Classic

Photo by: Craig Lassig

Blue Devils Shoot 12-Under to Open Windy City Collegiate

10/2/2023 8:26:00 PM | Women's Golf

Scoring

GOLF, Ill. – The Duke women's golf team opened action Monday in the Windy City Collegiate Classic with back-to-back under-par rounds as the Blue Devils shot 12-under-par and is in sixth place heading into Tuesday's final round at the 6,368-yard, par-72 Glen View Club in Golf, Ill.

Duke featured three golfers shooting in the 60s on Monday – Andie Smith (68), Phoebe Brinker (69) and Emma McMyler (69). Both Katie Li and Anne Chen closed the day with a 2-under, 70. The Blue Devils registered rounds of 283 and 281 for a 36-hole score of 564.

Six teams failed to finish the second round, but UCLA leads the classic with a 24-under ledger. Texas (-16), Northwestern (-15), Wake Forest (-15), Oregon (-14), Duke (-12), Georgia (-11), Arizona (-8), Louisville (-5) and Auburn (-4) round out the top 10 teams.

How It Happened – Round One
•   As a team, Duke signed for a 5-under-par, 283, and was tied for sixth overall after the first 18 holes.
•   Sophomore Andie Smith opened action Monday with four birdies over her first 12 holes. After parring the first five holes, she rolled in a birdie on No. 6 and sank a 30-foot putt for birdie on No. 8 to make the turn at 2-under, 34. With back-to-back birdies on No. 11 and No. 12, Smith moved to 4-under. Smith closed with four pars, a bogey on No. 16 and a birdie on No. 18 to finish with a 4-under, 68, which ranked tied for sixth after round one.
•   Coming off winning her second collegiate event to open the season, senior Phoebe Brinker continued her solid play with a 3-under, 69, in the first round. After a bogey on the first hole, she birdied four out of the next eight holes to get to 3-under. On the back nine, she parred seven holes, posted a birdie on No. 16 and a bogey on No. 12.
•   Graduate student Emma McMyler posted an even-par, 72, to open play. She parred the first hole and then had a bogey on the par-3 second. McMyler then played the next seven holes at 1-under with a birdie on No. 5. She played the final nine holes with a couple of birdies on No. 12 and No. 15.
•   In the morning, senior Anne Chen opened with back-to-back bogeys and then parred 11 straight holes. She closed with two birdies, two bogeys and a par to finish with a 2-over, 74.
•   Freshman Katie Li posted a 2-over, 74, to kick off the event, after getting hot at the end. Li was 4-over through 13 holes, but closed strong with birdies on No. 15 and No. 18 to finish at 74. She stuck her wedge from 85 yards to a foot on No. 15 and hit a 90-yard shot on 18 from the rough to six feet.
•   Playing as an individual, junior Rylie Heflin was Duke's hottest golfer to close the first round. She played her final eight holes at 4-under-par on her way to finishing with a 1-over, 73. She birdied No. 2, No. 6, No. 8 and No. 9, after opening her round on hole No. 10. She had her short game working as she chipped to two and three feet, respectively, on No. 6 and No. 8, before rolling in a 15-footer for birdie on the ninth.

How It Happened – Round Two
•   After turning in a 68 in round one, Andie Smith carded a 1-over, 73, in the second round as she was limited to only one birdie on No 6. She was solid all afternoon totaling 15 pars in the second round. With a 3-under, 141, Smith enters Tuesday tied for 10th and five shots off the lead.
•   Freshman Katie Li turned in her best round as a Blue Devil in the afternoon signing for a 2-under, 70. After parring the first seven holes, she reached the green in two on the par-5 eighth and 2-putted for birdie. On No. 11, Li sank a 35-foot downhill left to right slider for birdie and then drained a downhill left to right slider for birdie on 17 to get to 3-under. She suffered her lone bogey of the day on No. 18. Li hit 13 fairways and 15 greens.
•   Anne Chen responded in the afternoon session with four birdies en route to a 2-under, 70. After bogeying the first hole, Chen rolled in back-to-back birdies on No. 2 and No. 3. She then moved to 2-under with a birdie on the 350-yard, par-4 ninth. She drained a birdie on No. 14 to get to 3-under, but suffered a bogey on No. 16 and a couple of pars on the way in to finish with a 70.
•   Graduate student Emma McMyler turned in a par and bogey to open the afternoon. She then parred the next two holes and then struck fire with four straight birdies on holes No. 5-8 to get to 3-under. McMyler closed the day at even par over her final 10 holes with eight pars, one birdie and one bogey to finish with a 3-under, 69. It marked her first round in the 60s as a Blue Devil. McMyler is tied for 18th with a 3-under, 141.
•   Senior Phoebe Brinker opened her second round with bogeys on No. 1 and No. 6, before making the turn with a 2-over, 38. She connected on back-to-back birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 to get back to even and played the next five holes at even par. She suffered a double-bogey on No. 17 to drop her back to 2-over, 74, for the afternoon round.
•   Rylie Heflin was limited to one birdie en route to shooting a 76 in the second round as an individual. Her birdie came on the 415-yard, par-4 hole No. 1 as she hit her 8-iron from 145 yards to five feet.

Notes
•   Andie Smith's 4-under, 68, in the opening round tied for a career-low score. It marked her fifth career round in the 60s and ninth career round of even or under par.
•   Over the first 36 holes, Smith missed only four greens and tied a career-best with 17 greens hit in the second round.
•   Anne Chen rolled a career-best 26 putts in the second round. It marked her 27th round of even or under par as a Blue Devil.
•   With her 3-under-69, Emma McMyler turned in her career-best score as a Blue Devil. She has notched even or under-par rounds in four of the five rounds she has played at Duke.
•   McMyler owns nine collegiate rounds in the 60s at Xavier and Duke.
•   Freshman Katie Li turned in her first under-par round of her Blue Devil career, while missing only two fairways over 36 holes Monday.
•   As a team, Duke totaled 33 birdies over the first 36 holes.

Quotes
•   "We played well today, with contribution from everyone.   We're back a ways, but a lot can happen in a day." – Duke head coach Dan Brooks

What is Next
•   Duke opens the final round at 8:30 a.m., (ET) off hole No. 1 along with Arizona State and Georgia.

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