Upcoming Event: Women's Golf versus Sea Best Intercollegiate on January 26, 2026
Women's Golf
vs Sea Best Intercollegiate
Friday, April 14
Greensboro, N.C. (Sedgefield Country Club)
Duke University
vs
ACC Championship
Photo by: Jaylynn Nash
Women’s Golf Places Second; Moves on to Match Play at ACCs
4/14/2023 10:02:00 PM | Women's Golf
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Behind an ACC-record 8-under-par, 64, by junior Phoebe Brinker on Friday, the Duke women's golf team turned in a second-place finish in the stroke play portion of the ACC Championship with an 11-under-par, 853, to move on to match play at the 6,092-yard, par-72 Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Brinker, the 2022 ACC Championship Individual Champion, turned in an impressive 12-under-par, 204, on her way to finishing second overall behind Virginia's Amanda Sambach, who shot an ACC-record 14-under, 202. The 54-hole total of 204 equals the lowest score by a Blue Devil in the ACC Championship, which was previously set by Brittany Lang in 2004.
The Blue Devils featured four in the top-18 of the final leaderboard – Brinker (2, -12), Anne Chen (9, -2), Megan Furtney (T15, +3) and Andie Smith (T15, +3).
Wake Forest earned the top seed with a 19-under, 845, followed by Duke (853), Clemson (857) and Virginia (865). The second-seeded Blue Devils will face the third-seeded Tigers in match play on Saturday, while the top-seeded Demon Deacons will take on fourth-seeded Virginia.
How It Happened
• The Blue Devils were solid to start Friday's final round of stroke play and remained in second place for most of the front nine. Duke struggled midway through the round and fell into third behind Clemson. The Blue Devils caught fire down the stretch shooting 9-under-par over the final five holes to increase their score to 11-under-par.
• Duke carded rounds of 283, 283 and 287 for an 853, which equaled the Blue Devils' lowest 54-hole score of the season, which took place in the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup.
• Junior Phoebe Brinker entered the final round six shots back of the individual leader, Amanda Sambach. Brinker tried to mount a rally early by sinking an 8-foot birdie on No. 2. She then headed to the par-5 fifth hole and got a friendly kick off the cart path on her drive. Brinker had 150 yards into the green and used her 8-iron and placed it to 10 feet for eagle. She rolled in her third eagle of the week and was 3-under early. Brinker closed the front nine with a couple of bogeys, a par and birdie on No. 8 as she made the turn at 2-under, 35.
• On the back nine, Brinker struck fire as she birdied four straight from No. 10-13 to get to 6-under and four off the individual lead. This included a tap-in for birdie on the 363-yard, par-4 13th. Brinker parred the next two holes and then sank a 10-footer for birdie on No. 17. She was up near the green on No. 18 in two and was able to get up-and-down for birdie to close with an ACC-record 64.
• After an even-par, 35, on the front nine on Friday, junior Anne Chen saved the best for last as she played the final nine holes at 4-under to card a season-best 4-under-par, 68. In fact, Chen played her final 12 holes at 5-under for the day. She rolled in a 14-footer for birdie on No. 8 and then hit her 7-iron from 164 yards on No. 12 to five feet for birdie. Chen had the putt of the day on the 445-yard, par-5 15th hole as she drained a 66-foot putt for eagle to move to her 3-under. She sank an eight-foot birdie on No. 16, had an unfortunate 3-putt bogey on No. 17 and rolled in a 4-foot birdie on No. 18 to finish with a 68.
• Senior Megan Furtney had a tough start to her final round as she was 3-over during her first four holes, but was only 2-over for her final 14 holes to finish with a 77. Furtney was 1-under over her final five holes with an 8-foot birdie on No. 17 to close her day. She carded her best 54-hole finish since her freshman campaign as she tied for 15th with a 219.
• Both Erica Shepherd and Andie Smith turned in a 6-over-par, 78, to close action on Friday. Shepherd had a solid day, except for a blemish on the 345-yard, par-4 ninth hole where she suffered a nine. She was only 1-over-par for her other 17 holes that included her fourth eagle of the season on No. 5. Shepherd hit her 4-iron from 204 yards to 20 feet and sank the putt. She was even-par over her final nine holes, which included a key 8-foot birdie on No. 17.
• Coming off rounds of 68 and 73 on Thursday, Smith started strong with a 1-under score through five holes. She hit her 6-iron from 168 yards to two feet for birdie on the second hole. She then went through a stretch where she struggled with a 9-over score over a span of seven holes. Smith ditched the push cart after her tee shot on No. 12 and then was 2-under over her final six holes. She sank a 10-foot birdie on No. 15 and 12-footer for birdie on No. 17.
Notes
• Phoebe Brinker registered eight birdies and one eagle in the final round, while hitting seven fairways, 16 greens and rolling 28 putts.
• Brinker's 54-hole score of 204 is tied for the third-lowest in school history on a par-72. The 204 tied for a Duke ACC Championship record along with Brittany Lang from 2004. The round of 64 is tied for the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
• Brinker now owns nine eagles over her career, which ranks tied for first on the Duke record charts.
• Anne Chen turned in her second career top-10 finish in the ACC Championship – both have come at Sedgefield (2023, 2021). She now owns seven career rounds in the 60s.
• Chen posted 10 fairways, 16 greens and had 31 putts in the final round.
• As a team, Duke tied with Wake Forest for the lead with 55 birdies and led the field with five eagles.
• Megan Furtney posted 13 birdies, which ranked tied for fourth-most in the field.
• Furtney registered a birdie on the 358-yard, par-4 17th in each of her three rounds.
• Freshman Andie Smith carded a tied for 15th finish in her first ACC Championship. Her 54-hole score of 219 is the second-best finish of the season.
• As a team, Duke shot 27-under-par on the par-5 holes, which was second behind Wake Forest (-32).
• The Blue Devils have advanced to the match play portion of the ACC Championship each of the three years since the league moved to match play to decide the champion.
Quotes
"It was pretty unbelievable. Golf felt pretty easy. It's just one of those days that every golfer loves and really hopes for. I was just firing at the pin all day. I left myself a lot of under 15-foot birdie putts. So, I think that was the key to shooting a low round." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker
"I'm so excited. I mean to finish second, the whole team has to play incredibly well and we really did that. So, we really got the job done but we still have two more days of work to do left." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker on the team finish and heading into match play
"I guess so maybe I should treat every tournament like the ACC Championship. I really don't treat it any differently. I think it's just, you know, random that it happened at the same tournament, but really just the focus level was there. And I'm just really excited that it came out during the tournament." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker on turning up her play in ACC Championship action
"It was a little bit of slow start, but then I turned around. After nine it was even. I just knew I had a lot of good holes to come up and that they're all very birdie able. Just making the putt on 15 really amped me up and was I was able to make more putts on 16 and 18. So, just a really special place and I have a lot of good memories here." -- Duke junior Anne Chen
"So excited. It just brings back so many good memories and the excitement of just having the whole team here and just cheering each other on. I'm so excited. I can't wait for the weekend." -- Duke junior Anne Chen on the team finish and heading into match play
What is Next
Duke will face Clemson in the semifinals of match play on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m., off hole No. 1. Wake Forest will take on Virginia beginning 9:50 a.m. The two winning teams will play for the ACC Championship on Sunday. Both days will be covered live on ACC Network Extra beginning at 9 a.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".
#GoDuke
ACC Championship Match Play Semifinals
Duke vs. Clemson
9 AM – Saturday, April 14
9:00 AM – Andie Smith (DU) vs. Melena Barrientos (CU)
9:10 AM – Anne Chen (DU) vs. Savannah Grewal (CU)
9:20 AM – Megan Furtney (DU) vs. Isabella Rawl (CU)
9:30 AM – Erica Shepherd (DU) vs. Chloe Holder (CU)
9:40 AM – Phoebe Brinker (DU) vs. Annabelle Pancake (CU)
Brinker, the 2022 ACC Championship Individual Champion, turned in an impressive 12-under-par, 204, on her way to finishing second overall behind Virginia's Amanda Sambach, who shot an ACC-record 14-under, 202. The 54-hole total of 204 equals the lowest score by a Blue Devil in the ACC Championship, which was previously set by Brittany Lang in 2004.
The Blue Devils featured four in the top-18 of the final leaderboard – Brinker (2, -12), Anne Chen (9, -2), Megan Furtney (T15, +3) and Andie Smith (T15, +3).
Wake Forest earned the top seed with a 19-under, 845, followed by Duke (853), Clemson (857) and Virginia (865). The second-seeded Blue Devils will face the third-seeded Tigers in match play on Saturday, while the top-seeded Demon Deacons will take on fourth-seeded Virginia.
How It Happened
• The Blue Devils were solid to start Friday's final round of stroke play and remained in second place for most of the front nine. Duke struggled midway through the round and fell into third behind Clemson. The Blue Devils caught fire down the stretch shooting 9-under-par over the final five holes to increase their score to 11-under-par.
• Duke carded rounds of 283, 283 and 287 for an 853, which equaled the Blue Devils' lowest 54-hole score of the season, which took place in the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup.
• Junior Phoebe Brinker entered the final round six shots back of the individual leader, Amanda Sambach. Brinker tried to mount a rally early by sinking an 8-foot birdie on No. 2. She then headed to the par-5 fifth hole and got a friendly kick off the cart path on her drive. Brinker had 150 yards into the green and used her 8-iron and placed it to 10 feet for eagle. She rolled in her third eagle of the week and was 3-under early. Brinker closed the front nine with a couple of bogeys, a par and birdie on No. 8 as she made the turn at 2-under, 35.
• On the back nine, Brinker struck fire as she birdied four straight from No. 10-13 to get to 6-under and four off the individual lead. This included a tap-in for birdie on the 363-yard, par-4 13th. Brinker parred the next two holes and then sank a 10-footer for birdie on No. 17. She was up near the green on No. 18 in two and was able to get up-and-down for birdie to close with an ACC-record 64.
• After an even-par, 35, on the front nine on Friday, junior Anne Chen saved the best for last as she played the final nine holes at 4-under to card a season-best 4-under-par, 68. In fact, Chen played her final 12 holes at 5-under for the day. She rolled in a 14-footer for birdie on No. 8 and then hit her 7-iron from 164 yards on No. 12 to five feet for birdie. Chen had the putt of the day on the 445-yard, par-5 15th hole as she drained a 66-foot putt for eagle to move to her 3-under. She sank an eight-foot birdie on No. 16, had an unfortunate 3-putt bogey on No. 17 and rolled in a 4-foot birdie on No. 18 to finish with a 68.
• Senior Megan Furtney had a tough start to her final round as she was 3-over during her first four holes, but was only 2-over for her final 14 holes to finish with a 77. Furtney was 1-under over her final five holes with an 8-foot birdie on No. 17 to close her day. She carded her best 54-hole finish since her freshman campaign as she tied for 15th with a 219.
• Both Erica Shepherd and Andie Smith turned in a 6-over-par, 78, to close action on Friday. Shepherd had a solid day, except for a blemish on the 345-yard, par-4 ninth hole where she suffered a nine. She was only 1-over-par for her other 17 holes that included her fourth eagle of the season on No. 5. Shepherd hit her 4-iron from 204 yards to 20 feet and sank the putt. She was even-par over her final nine holes, which included a key 8-foot birdie on No. 17.
• Coming off rounds of 68 and 73 on Thursday, Smith started strong with a 1-under score through five holes. She hit her 6-iron from 168 yards to two feet for birdie on the second hole. She then went through a stretch where she struggled with a 9-over score over a span of seven holes. Smith ditched the push cart after her tee shot on No. 12 and then was 2-under over her final six holes. She sank a 10-foot birdie on No. 15 and 12-footer for birdie on No. 17.
Notes
• Phoebe Brinker registered eight birdies and one eagle in the final round, while hitting seven fairways, 16 greens and rolling 28 putts.
• Brinker's 54-hole score of 204 is tied for the third-lowest in school history on a par-72. The 204 tied for a Duke ACC Championship record along with Brittany Lang from 2004. The round of 64 is tied for the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
• Brinker now owns nine eagles over her career, which ranks tied for first on the Duke record charts.
• Anne Chen turned in her second career top-10 finish in the ACC Championship – both have come at Sedgefield (2023, 2021). She now owns seven career rounds in the 60s.
• Chen posted 10 fairways, 16 greens and had 31 putts in the final round.
• As a team, Duke tied with Wake Forest for the lead with 55 birdies and led the field with five eagles.
• Megan Furtney posted 13 birdies, which ranked tied for fourth-most in the field.
• Furtney registered a birdie on the 358-yard, par-4 17th in each of her three rounds.
• Freshman Andie Smith carded a tied for 15th finish in her first ACC Championship. Her 54-hole score of 219 is the second-best finish of the season.
• As a team, Duke shot 27-under-par on the par-5 holes, which was second behind Wake Forest (-32).
• The Blue Devils have advanced to the match play portion of the ACC Championship each of the three years since the league moved to match play to decide the champion.
Quotes
"It was pretty unbelievable. Golf felt pretty easy. It's just one of those days that every golfer loves and really hopes for. I was just firing at the pin all day. I left myself a lot of under 15-foot birdie putts. So, I think that was the key to shooting a low round." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker
"I'm so excited. I mean to finish second, the whole team has to play incredibly well and we really did that. So, we really got the job done but we still have two more days of work to do left." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker on the team finish and heading into match play
"I guess so maybe I should treat every tournament like the ACC Championship. I really don't treat it any differently. I think it's just, you know, random that it happened at the same tournament, but really just the focus level was there. And I'm just really excited that it came out during the tournament." -- Duke junior Phoebe Brinker on turning up her play in ACC Championship action
"It was a little bit of slow start, but then I turned around. After nine it was even. I just knew I had a lot of good holes to come up and that they're all very birdie able. Just making the putt on 15 really amped me up and was I was able to make more putts on 16 and 18. So, just a really special place and I have a lot of good memories here." -- Duke junior Anne Chen
"So excited. It just brings back so many good memories and the excitement of just having the whole team here and just cheering each other on. I'm so excited. I can't wait for the weekend." -- Duke junior Anne Chen on the team finish and heading into match play
What is Next
Duke will face Clemson in the semifinals of match play on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m., off hole No. 1. Wake Forest will take on Virginia beginning 9:50 a.m. The two winning teams will play for the ACC Championship on Sunday. Both days will be covered live on ACC Network Extra beginning at 9 a.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".
#GoDuke
ACC Championship Match Play Semifinals
Duke vs. Clemson
9 AM – Saturday, April 14
9:00 AM – Andie Smith (DU) vs. Melena Barrientos (CU)
9:10 AM – Anne Chen (DU) vs. Savannah Grewal (CU)
9:20 AM – Megan Furtney (DU) vs. Isabella Rawl (CU)
9:30 AM – Erica Shepherd (DU) vs. Chloe Holder (CU)
9:40 AM – Phoebe Brinker (DU) vs. Annabelle Pancake (CU)
Players Mentioned
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