Blue Devils Tie for Fourth at Wake Forest Invitational, Love Finishes Third

Tuesday, March 5

Pinehurst, N.C.

Duke University

Round 3 at Wake Forest Invitational

Blue Devils Tie for Fourth at Wake Forest Invitational, Love Finishes Third

3/5/2024 7:30:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (PDF)

PINEHURST, N.C. – The Duke men's golf team finished off the Wake Forest Invitational on Tuesday, shooting an even-par, 280, to finish in a tie for fourth place overall. William Love earned his second consecutive top-five finish, the low Blue Devil overall at 1-over, 211, after a 2-under, 68, on Tuesday.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE

Duke shot even-par, 280, on Tuesday morning – its second straight even-par round of the tournament.
After being just one of two teams to finish even-par or better in the second round on Monday, the Blue Devils once again turned in one of the best team rounds of the day, as one of just three teams to shoot even-par or better in the third round.
William Love continued his momentum from the second round, shooting a 2-under, 68, in the final round. The sophomore started the day in a tie for 14th place and moved up 11 spots to secure a third-place finish for the event at 1-over, 211. After starting the morning with a par on the par-5 10th, Love rolled in two more birdies while just dropping one shot on the back-nine, making the turn at 2-under. The sophomore played level golf for the first six holes of the front-nine, before a bogey on the seventh. Love immediately responded though, placing his approach shot on the eighth inside 10 feet for a bounce-back birdie and an even-par closing nine holes.
Ethan Evans turned in his best round of the tournament, signing for an even-par, 70, on Tuesday. The sophomore finished in a tie for 25th overall, at 8-over, 218. In the third round, Evans promptly got into red figures with a birdie on the 10th and erased back-to-back bogeys on holes No. 15 and 16 with a birdie on No. 18, making the turn at even-par. One more birdie for his round, on the par-4 third, was offset by one additional bogey to close out his tournament.
Both Bryan Kim and Luke Sample carded a 1-over, 71, in the third round. Overall, Sample finished in a tie for 18th at 6-over, 216, and Kim tied for 25th with an overall score of 8-over, 218.
Sample played his first nine holes at even-par, after one birdie and one bogey. He then birdied the first hole, after making the turn to get to 1-under. Three dropped shots over six holes slowed the round's momentum, but Sample ended on a high note, birding the par-3 ninth to finish off his round.
Kim bounced back from a slow start after reaching 2-over after three holes, by rolling in a birdie on the par-4 16th. The freshman erased a bogey on the par-4 second with a tap-in birdie, after reaching the green in two on the par-5 fifth hole.
Kelly Chinn carded four bogeys along with one birdie en route to final-round 3-over, 73. The junior tied for 45th overall, at 12-over, 223.
Ian Siebers, playing individually, turned in a 4-over, 74, to end in a tie for 30th overall at 9-over, 219.

NOTES

Duke has now finished inside the top five in each of its seven team events so far this season.
The Blue Devils were the only team in the field with more than one round at even-par or better during the event.
William Love rolled in 11 total birdies, tied for second-most by an individual in the field.
In his first two events since returning from a fall injury, Love has now finished in third place and in a tie for second place.
Ian Siebers was one of just five golfers to finish under-par on the par-4's during the week, shooting 1-under on those holes.
Luke Sample shot 4-under on par-5's, tied for the best individual score on those holes.

QUOTES

"I didn't really feel like I had the game that I had yesterday, but I managed to keep it in play, get it on the green, get it in a spot where I could get up-and-down or make a couple of birdies when I hit some close. That was definitely a positive, considering this course can really beat you down when you're off." – Duke sophomore William Love
"This is a special place, so they wanted to get it set up like the U.S. Open so the kids could have the same experience. That being said, the course can get on top of you if you let it. I think we were a bit apprehensive in the first round. We're going to continue as coaches to help prepare the team for those first rounds. To be aware of where not to hit it, but to also focus on where you want it. And I think the guys did a much, much better job of that in rounds two and three." – head coach Jamie Green

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils are back in action in just four days, traveling to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for The Hayt. The three-day event, played on March 9-11, is held at Sawgrass Country Club.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMGOLF".

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