Duke Leads After First Day of Rod Myers Invitational

Sunday, September 24

Durham, N.C.

Duke University

Rounds 1 & 2 at Rod Myers Invitational

Ethan Evans tees off at Rod Myers Invitational

Duke Leads After First Day of Rod Myers Invitational

9/24/2023 10:41:00 PM | Men's Golf

Day 1 Results (PDF)Round 3 Tee Times (PDF)Round 3 Live Scoring Digital Program

DURHAM – Following the first two rounds of play at the Rod Myers Invitational, Duke sits atop the leaderboard at 7-under, 569. The Blue Devils, hosting their annual event for the 13th year, were led individually by Luke Sample, who sits in a tie for fourth place at 4-under, 140, following Sunday's rounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND ONE

As a team, Duke shot a 10-under, 278, in the first round
The Blue Devils were the only team to finish under-par through the first 18 holes and had all five players in their lineup finish in red figures.
Ian Siebers paced the field in the first round, carding a bogey-free, 5-under, 67. The senior got into red numbers with a birdie on the par-3 fourth hole. He took advantage of the first par-5 hole of the day, No. 7, rolling in a long birdie and was 2-under at the turn. Three more birdies on the back nine, including on both par-5's, capped off Siebers' 5-under first round.
Jimmy Zheng quickly got under-par as well, pouring in birdies on holes No. 5 and 7. A double-bogey moved Zheng back to even-par after eight holes, but the senior steadied his round on the back nine, making five consecutive pars after making the turn. The Auckland, New Zealand native then caught fire to close out his morning round, making birdies on three of his final four holes to finish off a 3-under, 69.
The first of three Duke rounds of 1-under, 71, came courtesy of Luke Sample. The junior dropped an early shot on No. 3 but rolled in birdies on both front-nine par-5's, No. 5 and 7. A bogey on the par-3 eighth was quickly erased by a tap-in eagle on No. 9, and Sample made the turn at 2-under. He tallied seven pars on the back nine, while adding one birdie and a double-bogey to finish off his opening round at 1-under.
Freshman Bryan Kim birdied the opening hole to start his first ever Rod Myers Invitational and offset a single bogey on the front nine with a birdie on the par-5 seventh. Similar to Sample, Kim made seven pars on the back nine while also making bogey on No. 12 and birdie on No. 17, ending his first round at 1-under, 71.
Kelly Chinn wrapped up the lineup's scoring in the first round with a 1-under, 71. The junior moved to 2-over early in the morning after dropped shots on holes No. 1 and 5, but promptly caught fire with four birdies over a five-hole stretch to reach 2-under walking off of the 11th green. Six pars over his final eight holes with just one bogey – on No. 16 – secured the junior's opening-round 71.
Also for Duke, there were four additional Blue Devils competing individually. Ethan Evans led the individuals, signing for a 1-over, 73. Daniel Uranga finished with a 6-over, 78, in his first round of the season. Daniel Choi carded an 8-over, 80, and John Peters rounded out Duke's first round with a 10-over, 82.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND TWO

The Blue Devils finished at 3-over, 291, in the second round.
Luke Sample started his afternoon quickly, rolling in a birdie on No. 2. A bogey on No. 5 was offset by birdies on holes No. 6 and 9, and the New York, N.Y., native made the turn at 2-under. A bogey-free back nine was supplemented with a single birdie on No. 14 and Sample finished the first day of action with a 3-under, 69 and in a tie for fourth overall at 4-under, 140.
Bryan Kim signed for a 1-under, 71, in the afternoon, his second consecutive 1-under round. The Brookeville, Md., native started the second round with a bogey on No. 1, but picked the shot back up on No. 2, rolling in his first birdie of the afternoon session. Back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7 moved Kim under-par. The freshman took advantage of the par-5 11th, making his fourth birdie of the round. Kim suffered bogeys on No. 14 and No. 18, but is currently 2-under, 142, after 36 holes and in a tie for eighth individually.
Kelly Chinn started his second round with five straight pars, before back-to-back bogeys on holes No. 6 and 7. Chinn made the turn and worked back towards even-par with birdies on No. 10 and No. 15 but dropped shots on No. 12 and No. 17 to eventually sign for a 2-over, 74, in the afternoon round.
Ian Siebers worked through a slow start to his second round, as the senior found himself 3-over after six holes. He poured in a 30-foot eagle putt on No. 7, before eventually making the turn at 2-over. Siebers took advantage of a birdie opportunity on the par-5 11th but played his final seven holes at 4-over to card a second-round, 5-over, 77. The senior is currently tied for 13th overall at even-par, 144.
Also for Duke, Jimmy Zheng was 6-over, 78, in the second round and is tied for 24th on the individual leaderboard at 3-over, 147.
Additionally for the Blue Devils, Ethan Evans is the low golfer competing individually after 36 holes, following his second-round, even-par, 72. The sophomore is tied for 18th overall at 1-over, 145. Daniel Choi signed for a 4-over, 76, while Daniel Uranga finished the day at 8-over, 78, and John Peters capped off Duke's participation with a 10-over, 82.

NOTES

Duke's first-round, 10-under, 278, is Duke's best first-round performance in the Rod Myers Invitational and is tied for the fourth-best team round overall in the history of the event.
All five Blue Devils in the lineup finished under-par in the first round, the second consecutive event this season (Highlands Invitational) that Duke has received five under-par scores in the first round.
Ian Siebers' bogey-free, 5-under, 67 in the first round was his best score-to-par since a 6-under, 66, at the Dorado Beach Collegiate in the spring of the 2022- 23 season.
As a team, Duke tied with NC State for the best scoring on par-5's, playing those holes at 15-under over the first 36 holes.
Siebers leads all individuals in par-5 scoring, at 6-under.
Playing individually, Ethan Evans finished the first 36 holes of action with the second-best scoring on par-3's, going 2-under.
Four different Duke golfers tallied an eagle on Sunday – Jimmy Zheng, Luke Sample, Daniel Choi and Siebers.
The Blue Devils have all five golfers in the lineup, and six total individuals, inside the top-25 heading into Sunday's final round.
Louisville's Sebastian Moss tied for the second-best round in Rod Myers Invitational history with his second-round, 8-under, 64. He joins Mickey DeMorat (Liberty), who finished at 8-under in 2017 and Moss' round is the lowest at the Rod Myers Invitational since Florida State's John Pak went 10-under, 62, in 2018.

QUOTES

"It's a 10, 11-hour day. Tale of two rounds, but truthfully, it's a five-man game and we had a couple of guys struggle in the afternoon and Louisville played amazing golf. It was kind of fun, they got to watch us play really well in the morning and we got to watch them in the afternoon, especially Sebastian [Moss]. ... I know for a while there in the first round we were lighting up the leaderboard and that can happen in some tournaments, that's great, the guys push each other, and they can go crazy. Unfortunately, we had a little bit of a roller coaster in the afternoon, and you add them all up … and we're looking forward to the fact that we're going to step onto the first tee [tomorrow] with the lead." – head coach Jamie Green on the team's performance throughout the first 36 holes of play.
"[Ethan Evans] is a really good ball-striker. Especially with his long irons. And that's not really what this golf course favors, quite frankly. And so, the fact that he put a solid 36 holes together, I'm really pleased and happy for him … The fact that he allowed himself to be free out there and stay present and plod along, I'm thrilled for him." – Green on Ethan Evans, the current low-golfer participating individually.

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1st of 12. Duke (278-291=569, -7)
T4. Luke Sample (71-69=140, -4)
T8. Bryan Kim (71-71=142, -2)
T13. Ian Siebers (67-77=144, E)
T18. Kelly Chinn (71-74=145, +1)
T18. Ethan Evans* (73-72=145, +1)
T24. Jimmy Zheng (69-78=147, +3)
T63. Daniel Choi (80-76=156, +12)
T68. Daniel Uranga (78-80=158, +14)
71. John Peters (82-82=164, +20)