Upcoming Event: Women's Golf versus Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational on October 17, 2025
Women's Golf
vs Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational
Friday, May 19
Scottsdale, Ariz. (Grayhawk Golf Club)
Duke University
vs
NCAA Championship
Photo by: Kelsey Groff / Duke Athletics
Shepherd, Furtney Pace Duke in Opening Round at NCAAs
5/19/2023 10:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Duke women's golf team opened the NCAA Championship on Friday at 6,368-yard, par 72 Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., with an even-par, 288, and currently sits tied for seventh overall on the team leaderboard.
The Blue Devils were paced by a pair of seniors as Erica Shepherd turned in a 2-under, 70, and Megan Furtney carded a 1-under, 71, as Duke featured the first tee time at 6:10 a.m., local time in Arizona. Following the morning wave of teams, the Blue Devils' score of 288 was the fourth-best 18-hole score.
How It Happened
• Duke opened its first round on hole No. 10 and was four-over-par on the hole.
• The Blue Devils were 4-under-par following that opening hole and went on to make the turn at 1-under-par.
• Following a flurry of birdies on holes No. 2-4, Duke took the team lead with a 5-under-par ledger. The Blue Devils dropped eight shots on holes No. 4 and No. 5 to fall back down the leaderboard.
• On holes No. 10 and No. 5, Duke was a combined 9-over-par.
• As a team, Duke posted 18 birdies on the day, which ranked tied for third among the field.
• Erica Shepherd opened her round with Duke's lone birdie on hole No. 10 as she rolled in a four-foot putt to get in the red. She suffered a 3-putt bogey on No. 12, but got back in the red by draining an 18-foot birdie on No. 16. Shepherd had a key 10-foot par putt on No. 18 to make the turn with a 1-under, 35. On the back, she hit 7-of-9 greens and posted eight pars. Shepherd collected her third birdie of the day on No. 4 as she stuck her approach to three feet and went on to finish with a 70. She hit 10 fairways, 14 greens and rolled 30 putts. Shepherd is tied for 10th overall, after day one.
• Megan Furtney played bogey-free golf on Friday for her first 13 holes and was able to reach 3-under-par. After an up-and-down par on No. 10, she collected a 6-foot birdie on No. 11 to get under par early. Furtney hit all of her greens from No. 11-18 and made the turn with a 1-under, 35. On the back, she hit her pitching wedge from 127 yards to 10 feet for birdie on No. 2 and then reached 3-under after sinking a 12-foot birdie on No. 4. Furtney missed the green on the par-3 fifth hole and hit the fairway bunker on No. 9 to lead to her only two bogeys of the day. She hit 14 greens, nine fairways and had 31 putts for the morning. Furtney is tied for 21st overall on the individual leaderboard.
• Leading Duke with six birdies on the day, Andie Smith posted a 1-over, 73, in the opening round and is tied for 51st. After a bogey on No. 10 to start her day, Smith parred the next three holes and then used her pitching wedge on No. 14 from 120 yards and stuck her approach to three feet for birdie. She suffered a bogey on No. 15, before going par, par and birdie to make the turn at even-par, 36. Smith reeled off back-to-back birdies on No. 2 and No. 3 as she placed her gap wedge to two feet from 113 yards on the second hole. She then drained a 17-footer for birdie on No. 3. Smith came up short on her approach on No. 4 and ended up with a triple-bogey followed by a double on No. 5. She regrouped and closed with a 2-under score over her final four holes as she sank an 8-footer for birdie on No. 7. Smith was clutch on her final hole hitting an 8-iron from 162 yards to 5 feet for birdie.
• Junior Phoebe Brinker had an eventful front nine on Friday as she had three pars, three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey, on her way to finishing with a 1-over, 37. She collected birdies on No. 11, No. 13 and No. 18. On the back, she opened with three consecutive pars and then suffered back-to-back bogeys. Brinker registered her fourth birdie of the day on the par-5 seventh as she hit her second shot into the greenside bunker and then got up-and-down from 12 feet. She is tied for 66th overall with a 74.
• Anne Chen registered two birdies on the day and signed for a 77. She had a tough start as she was 4-over-par during her first six holes. Chen played her final 12 holes at 1-over-par. She hit her pitching wedge from 122 yards on No. 16 to four feet for birdie and then use an 8-iron from 152 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 8. Chen hit 14 greens, 10 fairways and had 36 putts.
• Wake Forest (279), Oklahoma State (280), Georgia (286), South Carolina (286), New Mexico (287), Texas A&M (287), Duke (288), Florida State (288), Stanford (288) and Baylor (289) are in the top 10 after day one. Oklahoma State's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard leads the individual action with a 6-under, 66.
Notes
• Duke has shot even-par or better in five out of its last seven stroke play rounds.
• The round of 288 was the lowest first round score by the Blue Devils in the NCAA Championship since 2013 when Duke turned in a 286. Overall, the 288 is tied for the third-lowest first round score for the Blue Devils in NCAA Championship action – 285 (1998), 286 (2013), 288 (2010, 1999, 2023). Duke placed in the top-8 each of those years – 1998 (4th), 1999 (1st), 2010 (T8th), 2013 (2nd) and 2023 (TBD).
• Erica Shepherd posted her 12th round this season of even or under par and her 37th of her career.
• Shepherd's 2-under, 70, is the lowest 18-hole score for her in NCAA Championship play.
• Shepherd had 30 putts on the day, which was the fewest putts in a round for the senior since March at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
• Megan Furtney made her NCAA Championship debut and posted a 1-under, 71, which was her fourth even or under par round of the season and 10th of her career. She has all four of her even or under par rounds over the last three tournaments.
• Freshman Andie Smith posted a team-best six birdies in her first round and finished with a 1-over, 73. She has 15 birdies over her last two stroke play rounds.
• Smith's 2-under-par score on par-4 holes ranked tied for second among the field. Her six birdies also ranked tied for second.
• With her four birdies on the day, Phoebe Brinker eclipsed the 100-birdie mark on the season as she now owns 101 on the year. It is the most birdies by a Duke golfer since the 2017-18 season when Leona Maguire (121) and Ana Belac (103) reached the 100-birdie mark.
• Brinker registered a team-best 27 putts on the day, which is the second-fewest of her Duke career. She had 25 as a freshman at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
Quotes
"Even par day one. I feel good about it. They've done a great job setting up the course — it was challenging and fair. We shot even par so it's a good day." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks
"It was a good day out there. I would say the best thing out there was my putter. Definitely just rolled in some really crucial putts. On 18, I laid up in the water and then made a super clutch par putt. So, just having the confidence with the putter was really big for me." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd
"So [the course is] playing pretty wet, which is funny because we're in Arizona, but still got a few mud balls. It's not rolling out much. I had some longer clubs into the holes than a couple years ago. So, it was kind of getting used to that and using it to my advantage." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd on how the course played today
"It's got to be, but I think we've done a really good job of not really getting used to the time change. So, 6:10 today felt like 9:10. So didn't feel crazy early, but finishing before noon is very nice." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd on the early tee time
"We are feeling great. I know everyone has a few shots that they feel like they lost out there. But I mean Andie [Smith] finished with a really clutch birdie. So, I think that we have some momentum heading into tomorrow and just to shoot even as a team I think out here today is really good." Duke senior Erica Shepherd on the team shooting even par
What is Next
Duke will tee off on Saturday in the second round beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) along with Clemson and SMU.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils were paced by a pair of seniors as Erica Shepherd turned in a 2-under, 70, and Megan Furtney carded a 1-under, 71, as Duke featured the first tee time at 6:10 a.m., local time in Arizona. Following the morning wave of teams, the Blue Devils' score of 288 was the fourth-best 18-hole score.
How It Happened
• Duke opened its first round on hole No. 10 and was four-over-par on the hole.
• The Blue Devils were 4-under-par following that opening hole and went on to make the turn at 1-under-par.
• Following a flurry of birdies on holes No. 2-4, Duke took the team lead with a 5-under-par ledger. The Blue Devils dropped eight shots on holes No. 4 and No. 5 to fall back down the leaderboard.
• On holes No. 10 and No. 5, Duke was a combined 9-over-par.
• As a team, Duke posted 18 birdies on the day, which ranked tied for third among the field.
• Erica Shepherd opened her round with Duke's lone birdie on hole No. 10 as she rolled in a four-foot putt to get in the red. She suffered a 3-putt bogey on No. 12, but got back in the red by draining an 18-foot birdie on No. 16. Shepherd had a key 10-foot par putt on No. 18 to make the turn with a 1-under, 35. On the back, she hit 7-of-9 greens and posted eight pars. Shepherd collected her third birdie of the day on No. 4 as she stuck her approach to three feet and went on to finish with a 70. She hit 10 fairways, 14 greens and rolled 30 putts. Shepherd is tied for 10th overall, after day one.
• Megan Furtney played bogey-free golf on Friday for her first 13 holes and was able to reach 3-under-par. After an up-and-down par on No. 10, she collected a 6-foot birdie on No. 11 to get under par early. Furtney hit all of her greens from No. 11-18 and made the turn with a 1-under, 35. On the back, she hit her pitching wedge from 127 yards to 10 feet for birdie on No. 2 and then reached 3-under after sinking a 12-foot birdie on No. 4. Furtney missed the green on the par-3 fifth hole and hit the fairway bunker on No. 9 to lead to her only two bogeys of the day. She hit 14 greens, nine fairways and had 31 putts for the morning. Furtney is tied for 21st overall on the individual leaderboard.
• Leading Duke with six birdies on the day, Andie Smith posted a 1-over, 73, in the opening round and is tied for 51st. After a bogey on No. 10 to start her day, Smith parred the next three holes and then used her pitching wedge on No. 14 from 120 yards and stuck her approach to three feet for birdie. She suffered a bogey on No. 15, before going par, par and birdie to make the turn at even-par, 36. Smith reeled off back-to-back birdies on No. 2 and No. 3 as she placed her gap wedge to two feet from 113 yards on the second hole. She then drained a 17-footer for birdie on No. 3. Smith came up short on her approach on No. 4 and ended up with a triple-bogey followed by a double on No. 5. She regrouped and closed with a 2-under score over her final four holes as she sank an 8-footer for birdie on No. 7. Smith was clutch on her final hole hitting an 8-iron from 162 yards to 5 feet for birdie.
• Junior Phoebe Brinker had an eventful front nine on Friday as she had three pars, three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey, on her way to finishing with a 1-over, 37. She collected birdies on No. 11, No. 13 and No. 18. On the back, she opened with three consecutive pars and then suffered back-to-back bogeys. Brinker registered her fourth birdie of the day on the par-5 seventh as she hit her second shot into the greenside bunker and then got up-and-down from 12 feet. She is tied for 66th overall with a 74.
• Anne Chen registered two birdies on the day and signed for a 77. She had a tough start as she was 4-over-par during her first six holes. Chen played her final 12 holes at 1-over-par. She hit her pitching wedge from 122 yards on No. 16 to four feet for birdie and then use an 8-iron from 152 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 8. Chen hit 14 greens, 10 fairways and had 36 putts.
• Wake Forest (279), Oklahoma State (280), Georgia (286), South Carolina (286), New Mexico (287), Texas A&M (287), Duke (288), Florida State (288), Stanford (288) and Baylor (289) are in the top 10 after day one. Oklahoma State's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard leads the individual action with a 6-under, 66.
Notes
• Duke has shot even-par or better in five out of its last seven stroke play rounds.
• The round of 288 was the lowest first round score by the Blue Devils in the NCAA Championship since 2013 when Duke turned in a 286. Overall, the 288 is tied for the third-lowest first round score for the Blue Devils in NCAA Championship action – 285 (1998), 286 (2013), 288 (2010, 1999, 2023). Duke placed in the top-8 each of those years – 1998 (4th), 1999 (1st), 2010 (T8th), 2013 (2nd) and 2023 (TBD).
• Erica Shepherd posted her 12th round this season of even or under par and her 37th of her career.
• Shepherd's 2-under, 70, is the lowest 18-hole score for her in NCAA Championship play.
• Shepherd had 30 putts on the day, which was the fewest putts in a round for the senior since March at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
• Megan Furtney made her NCAA Championship debut and posted a 1-under, 71, which was her fourth even or under par round of the season and 10th of her career. She has all four of her even or under par rounds over the last three tournaments.
• Freshman Andie Smith posted a team-best six birdies in her first round and finished with a 1-over, 73. She has 15 birdies over her last two stroke play rounds.
• Smith's 2-under-par score on par-4 holes ranked tied for second among the field. Her six birdies also ranked tied for second.
• With her four birdies on the day, Phoebe Brinker eclipsed the 100-birdie mark on the season as she now owns 101 on the year. It is the most birdies by a Duke golfer since the 2017-18 season when Leona Maguire (121) and Ana Belac (103) reached the 100-birdie mark.
• Brinker registered a team-best 27 putts on the day, which is the second-fewest of her Duke career. She had 25 as a freshman at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
Quotes
"Even par day one. I feel good about it. They've done a great job setting up the course — it was challenging and fair. We shot even par so it's a good day." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks
"It was a good day out there. I would say the best thing out there was my putter. Definitely just rolled in some really crucial putts. On 18, I laid up in the water and then made a super clutch par putt. So, just having the confidence with the putter was really big for me." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd
"So [the course is] playing pretty wet, which is funny because we're in Arizona, but still got a few mud balls. It's not rolling out much. I had some longer clubs into the holes than a couple years ago. So, it was kind of getting used to that and using it to my advantage." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd on how the course played today
"It's got to be, but I think we've done a really good job of not really getting used to the time change. So, 6:10 today felt like 9:10. So didn't feel crazy early, but finishing before noon is very nice." -- Duke senior Erica Shepherd on the early tee time
"We are feeling great. I know everyone has a few shots that they feel like they lost out there. But I mean Andie [Smith] finished with a really clutch birdie. So, I think that we have some momentum heading into tomorrow and just to shoot even as a team I think out here today is really good." Duke senior Erica Shepherd on the team shooting even par
What is Next
Duke will tee off on Saturday in the second round beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) along with Clemson and SMU.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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