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Duke Surges in Valspar Collegiate Final Round
3/26/2024 4:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
PALM CITY, Fla. - An 11-under final round helped the Blue Devils' men's golf team to a sixth-place finish at the Valspar Collegiate on Tuesday afternoon. Duke turned in the second-best round on the course in the final round and was the day's biggest mover, shooting up six spots on the leaderboard. Ethan Evans fired a 6-under, 65, setting a new career-low 18-hole score and was joined in a tie for 15th overall at 1-under, 212, by his teammate Luke Sample, who carded a 3-under, 68, in the final round.
HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
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HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE
- As a team, Duke shot an 11-under, 273, in the final round.
- The double-digit under-par round trailed only Vanderbilt's 12-under for best round of the day.
- Ethan Evans carded a 6-under, 65, on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 15th at 1-under, 212, overall. The sophomore started with a bogey on the par-3 16th but then caught fire, pouring in seven birdies over a nine-hole stretch. The streak started with three consecutive on holes No. 18, 1 and 2, before two pars on holes No. 2 and 3. The sophomore then rolled in four more in a row, reaching 6-under for the first time in the round. A bogey on the par-4 ninth was quickly erased with a birdie on No. 10 and Evans once again bounced back from a bogey, this time on No. 14, with a birdie on his final hole of the round - the par-5 15th.
- Luke Sample started his day in red numbers after a birdie on his first hole, No. 13, and an eagle on No. 15. A dropped shot on No. 16 was followed with five straight pars to finish his first nine holes at 2-under. Five birdies in his final nine holes of play helped offset two bogeys as the junior finished off his 3-under round. Sample ended the event at 1-under, 212, and tied for 15th overall.
- Daniel Choi signed for a 2-under, 69, on Tuesday. The sophomore played the first half of his round at 2-under, with three birdies across a five-hole span. A bogey on No. 9 was erased with a birdie on No. 10 and Choi reached as low as 3-under with a birdie on the par-5 13th, but went on to bogey No. 14 before parring the final two holes to end at 2-under. Â
- William Love used five birdies to help work through three bogeys and one double-bogey en route to an even-par, 71, in his final round and finished tied for 32nd at 3-over, 216, overall. Love began bogey-birdie on his first two holes and played steady at even-par until a double-bogey on No. 5 pushed the sophomore to 2-over. Four birdies over Love's final eight holes were mixed in with three more dropped shots as the Atlanta, Ga., native wound up at even-par at the end of the round.
- Bryan Kim rounded out Duke's day with a 2-over, 73, and finished in a tie for 38th overall at 4-over, 217.Â
- Duke finished with the second-best round on the course in both the second and third rounds, trailing only eventual tournament winner Florida State in the second round and third-ranked Vanderbilt in the third round.
- With the sixth-place finish, the Blue Devils snapped their streak of eight straight top-five finishes. It is the first non-top-five finish for Duke during the 2023-24 season.Â
- Duke led the field in par-3 scoring, going 11-over on those holes.Â
- Ethan Evans finished with just 26 putts and set a new career-low with his 65, surpassing the 66 he had tallied at both the Dorado Beach Collegiate last season and at the Prestige this season.
- The 6-under matched Evans' best score-to-par as a Blue Devil, joining his 6-under, 66, at the Dorado Beach Collegiate.
- With his tie for 15th, Evans has secured a top-25 finish in six consecutive events and has finished 15th or better in five of those.
- Luke Sample shot 1-under on par-3 holes, tied for the best par-3 scoring by any individual in the field.
- William Love was one of just 10 individual golfers to play the par-4's at even-par or better.Â
- Daniel Choi has now finished under-par in two of his last five rounds.
- "It was a fun day. Funny enough, I started off with a bogey on the first hole and wasn't feeling great about that but then just got the putter rolling. Birdied No. 18, which is one of the hardest holes on the course - that felt good - and then just carried that to the front-nine. Was just trying to keep the foot on the gas." - Duke sophomore Ethan Evans on his third-round performance
- [The team] got off to a rough start this week but we knew we were good enough to compete with all these teams. To put up the second-best round today among the teams, that's great for us. Lots of great teams here that we'll see down the road and hopefully we can take this momentum into the next tournament." - Evans on Duke's play throughout the week
- "We don't want to keep digging early first-round holes, but at the same time, this team can just flip a switch. They're not afraid to make more birdies even though they've already made a few. They make them in bunches, and they even make them on holes that you wouldn't necessarily think birdies are going to be all that easy to attain." - head coach Jamie Green on the team's ability to respond to a slow start
- Duke returns home for its final regular-season tournament, participating in the Stitch Intercollegiate on April 12 and 13. The event, hosted by NC State, is held at Loonie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, N.C., and the Blue Devils will look to defend their back-to-back team titles in the event.
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
Â
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