Blue Devils Tied for Fourth, Play Suspended Due to Darkness at Highlands Invitational

Monday, September 18

Westchester, Ill.

Duke University

Rounds 1 & 2 at Highlands Invitational

Blue Devils Tied for Fourth, Play Suspended Due to Darkness at Highlands Invitational

9/18/2023 9:09:00 PM | Men's Golf

Live Scoring

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Following two consecutive under-par rounds, the Duke men's golf team is currently tied for fourth place at the Highlands Invitational, played at the Chicago Highlands Club. The Blue Devils finished 10-under and 8-under, respectively, in their opening two rounds and all five golfers in Duke's lineup enter the final round under-par, individually. Jimmy Zheng currently paces the Blue Devils, as he sits in a tie for eighth place at 6-under, 138.

The second round was suspended due to darkness with six teams remaining on the course and play is scheduled to resume at 8:10 a.m. ET.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND ONE

As a team, Duke shot a 10-under, 278, in the opening round.
Two rounds of 3-under, 69, were turned in by Blue Devils, as both Luke Sample and Kelly Chinn tallied their first rounds in the 60's this season.
Sample had an action-packed front nine, as the junior rolled in six birdies. The New York, N.Y., native dropped shots on No. 1, No. 4 and No. 8 to make the turn at 2-under. A bogey on No. 10 was quickly erased with a birdie on No. 11 and Sample carded his eighth birdie of the round on the par-3 13th before finishing his 3-under, 69, with five consecutive pars.
Chinn signed for his second straight round at par or better, dating back to the Sahalee Players Championship, with his 3-under, 69. The junior got into red numbers quickly, with back-to-back birdies on holes No. 4 and 5. His first dropped shot came on No. 10, but Chinn bounced back with his third birdie of the day on No. 11. A bogey on the 233-yard, par-3 13th moved him back to 1-under, but the Great Falls, Va., native closed out his first round on a high note with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th.
Freshman Bryan Kim secured his first under-par round as a Blue Devil, signing for a 2-under, 70, in the first round. He started his day with a bogey on No. 1, but steadied the ship with 12 consecutive pars. Kim got back to even-par with his first birdie of the day, on No. 14, and finished his round with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to cap off his 2-under, 70.
Jimmy Zheng also had a 2-under, 70, in the first round. Making his first appearance in the Duke lineup this season, the senior played his front nine bogey-free, while rolling in birdies on holes No. 7 and 9. Another birdie, on No. 10, pushed Zheng to 3-under. Dropped shots on No. 12 and No. 15 slowed Zheng's momentum, but the Auckland, New Zealand native ended on a high note, making birdie on the par-5 18th.
Also for Duke, Ian Siebers finished at 1-under, 71, in the first round. Ethan Evans, competing as an individual, signed for a 3-over, 75.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND TWO

The Blue Devils shot a 7-under, 281, in the second round.
Jimmy Zheng led the Duke lineup in the afternoon, as he finished with a 4-under, 68. Zheng balanced two birdies and two bogeys during his front nine, as he made the turn at even-par. The senior caught fire on the back, as he went bogey-free while rolling in four birdies, including on both par-3's on the back nine and consecutive under-par efforts on the 17th and 18th.
Ian Siebers built on his 1-under first round, signing for a 3-under, 69, in the second round. The senior picked up two birdies on the front nine, while dropping a single shot and making the turn at 1-under. Siebers surged to start the back nine, pouring in birdies on each of his first four holes, after making the turn. Two bogeys at the end of the round finished off his 3-under afternoon.
The third under-par round by a Duke golfer was turned in by Luke Sample, who finished at 1-under, 71. After a birdie on No. 1 that was followed by a double-bogey, Sample bounced back with birdies on holes No. 5 and 7 to help make the turn at even-par. Two more birdies, on the par-5 12th and par-4 14th moved Sample into red numbers, before a late bogey wrapped up the 1-under effort.
Bryan Kim continued his steady play in the second round, logging 13 pars to help finish at 1-over, 73. The freshman birdied the par-5 7th and par-4 11th during the second round to aid his scoring efforts.
Also for Duke, Kelly Chinn logged a 1-over, 73. Ethan Evans, playing as an individual, has two holes remaining in his second round.

NOTES

All five individuals in Duke's lineup finished under-par in the first round
At the time of play being suspended, Duke had the second-most birdies of any team in the field on Monday, with 45.
The Blue Devils finished the day at even-par on the par-3's, currently tied for the best scoring on those holes by any team in the field.
Duke finished the first two rounds at 19-under on par-5's.
Jimmy Zheng's 68 is the second round in the 60's over his last four rounds, joining his 2-under, 69 in the second round of the Stitch Intercollegiate.
Luke Sample is currently tied for the most birdies over the first two rounds, rolling in 13.
Bryan Kim is currently tied for the most pars by any individual, with 27 through 36 holes.
Ian Siebers tallied his first eagle of the season.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils start their third round of play following the completion of the second round on Tuesday morning.
Tee times and live scoring are available on Golfstat.

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