Malixi, Duke Place Tied for Third in Texas

Monday, March 23

Fort Worth, Texas

Duke University

Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational

Photo by: Mario Terrana

Malixi, Duke Place Tied for Third in Texas

3/24/2026 10:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

Scoring

FORT WORTH, Texas – Against a stellar field and on a challenging golf course, the 11th-ranked Duke women's golf team closed the regular season Tuesday with a tied for third place finish at the Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational at the 6,238-yard, par-70 Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

Blue Devil rookie Rianne Malixi carded her third top-3 finish in as many tournaments as she totaled rounds of 67, 71 and 72 for an even-par, 210. Duke junior Katie Li also finished eighth with scores of 71, 72 and 69 for a 2-over, 212, which marked her third top-10 finish of the season.

As a team, Duke was in striking distance of Stanford on the back nine Tuesday, but dropped eight shots over the final six holes to fall back into a tie for third. The Cardinal won the team title with an 8-over, 848, while Oregon (851), Duke (859) and Wake Forest (859) rounded out the top three teams.

Over the 54 holes, the Blue Devils carded rounds of 282, 289 and 288 for a 19-over, 859.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND THREE

Rianne Malixi opened her final round with 10 pars in a row until she stuck her approach on No. 11 to a foot for birdie from 60 yards. She closed the day with three bogeys and four pars to finish with a 72. She hit 15 greens, but couldn't get any putts to drop in the final round.
Junior Katie Li opened her day with back-to-back birdies on No. 1 and No. 2. She rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the first hole and then from below a tree 129 yards away, Li chopped an 8-iron to nine feet for birdie on the second hole. She then parred eight holes in a row, which included a great par save on No. 8 as she was plugged in the bunker and made a 25-foot putt for par. Li then hit her 3-wood from 255 yards to 23 feet for eagle and 2-putted for birdie to move to 3-under. After a double-bogey on No. 13, she parred the final five holes to finish with a 1-under, 69.
Anna Cañado Espinal signed for a 2-over, 72, as she went on to finish tied for 27th for the event. She bogeyed the first hole and then parred six in a row. After another bogey, Cañado Espinal collected birdies on No. 9 and No. 11 to return to even par. She suffered three bogeys over a span of four holes, while adding her third birdie of the day on No. 16. Overall, Cañado Espinal played the final 10 holes at even par.
Carla De Troia turned in a 75 in the final round with one birdie on No. 17, as she finished tied for 32nd for the tournament.
Graduate student Andie Smith was 1-over through 12 holes in the final round but struggled on the way in to finish with a 79.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND TWO

Duke shot a 9-over, 289, in round two dropping to third overall as a team with a 36-hole score of 571. Stanford led the field with a 562, while Texas (569), Duke (571) and Oregon (573) rounded out the top four teams. The Blue Devils were leading through 27 holes on the day until Duke dropped 15 shots on holes 1-9, falling into third place.
Rianne Malixi held a 2-under, 138, and entered the final round only one shot off the leaders, Farah O'Keefe of Texas and Kiara Romero of Oregon with a 137.
Malixi featured another excellent start with back-to-back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13. She drained a 6-foot birdie on No. 12 and then a 15-footer for birdie on No. 13. After a bogey on No. 15, Malixi returned to 3-under with a 1-foot birdie on No. 16. She was 2-under with seven holes remaining, but went through a stretch where she bogeyed four holes in a row from 3-6. Malixi rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on No. 9 to close the round with a 71.
Four Blue Devils entered the final round in the top 20 as Malixi (3rd), Katie Li (T11), Andie Smith (T20) and Carla De Troia (T20).
Li started her day on No. 12 and parred her first five holes, before suffering a bogey on No. 17. She then birdied No. 1 and then stuck her approach on No. 3 to five feet from 180 yards away for birdie to get to 1-under-par. Li played the final eight holes at 3-over-par to finish with a 72.
Smith parred her first four holes of the day and then rolled in a 20-foot birdie on No. 18. She went on to play her next 13 holes at 4-over-par to finish with a 73.
Both De Troia and Anna Cañado Espinal signed for a 3-over, 73, in the second round. De Troia rolled in three birdies as she was striking her wedges well, while Cañado Espinal added one.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND ONE

Duke led the field following the first 18 holes Monday as the Blue Devils carded a 2-over, 282, and led by one stroke over Oklahoma State, Texas and Stanford.
Rianne Malixi paced the Blue Devils with a 3-under-par, 67, and was one shot off the individual lead, while Katie Li was in the top 10 with a 1-over, 71.
Malixi opened her morning with four birdies over her first nine holes on No. 11, No. 14, No. 18 and No. 1 to move to 4-under-par. She was sticking her approach shots close with all four birdies under eight feet. After a pair of bogeys on No. 2 and No. 5, Malixi rolled in a 15-footer for birdie on No. 8 and a 12-foot birdie on No. 9 to finish with a 3-under, 67. She hit 14 fairways, 14 greens and rolled 29 putts.
Katie Li kicked off her day with a bogey on No. 12 and then added another bogey on No. 16. She connected on her first birdie of the day on No. 1, but dropped two shots over the next three holes. Li registered back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes and played the final seven holes at 2-under par to finish with a 1-over, 71.
Andie Smith had a slow start with two bogeys over her first three holes as she opened her day on hole No. 14. She had two other bogeys on No. 3 and No. 5, but collected her lone birdie on the 374-yard, par-4 sixth hole as she hit her 50-degree wedge from 119 yards to 15 feet and made the putt. Smith parred the next five holes and closed by striking her 60-degree wedge from 68 yards to 10 feet for birdie on No. 12 to finish with a 2-over, 72. She had 28 putts on the day.
After back-to-back bogeys on No. 13 and No. 14, Carla De Troia birdied No. 15 and No. 17 to return to even par and played her final 13 holes at even par to finish with a 72.
Anna Cañado Espinal was limited to one birdie on No. 15 en route to finishing with a 4-over, 74, to open the event.

NOTES

Duke led the field with a 5-under score on par-5 holes over the 54 holes, while ranking tied for second on par-4 holes with a +26 ledger.
The Blue Devils featured 36 birdies to rank tied for third as a team.
Katie Li led the tournament with a 4-under score on par-5 holes, while Rianne Malixi was tied for second with a 3-under ledger.
Malixi ranked tied for first with 11 birdies.
Li totaled her fourth round in the 60s this season and 14th of her career.
Malixi posted her team-best fifth round in the 60s on the year.
Kiara Romero of Oregon won the individual title with a 6-under, 204.

Quotes

"Great field, tough golf course - and the first time any of our players had seen this storied venue. I'm really proud of the way the entire team stayed patient and learned as we went along. The greens were firm and there was wind. It was great that we started strong on a course that was new to us." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will next compete in the ACC Championship April 16-19 at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.

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

#GoDuke

Duke Results
Rianne Malixi                       67-71-72=210 (T3, E)
Katie Li                                  71-72-69=212 (8, +2)
Anna Cañado Espinal         74-73-72=219 (T27, +9)
Carla De Troia                      72-73-75=220 (T32, +10)
Andie Smith                         72-73-79=224 (T54, +14)
Team                                    282-289-288=859 (T3, +19)