Malixi Fires Course Record; Blue Devils Leap Up Leaderboard in Final Round

Monday, March 2

Hilton Head, S.C.

Duke University

Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

Photo by: Andy Mead

Malixi Fires Course Record; Blue Devils Leap Up Leaderboard in Final Round

3/4/2026 6:26:00 PM | Women's Golf

Scoring

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – For the second collegiate event in a row, Duke women's golf freshman Rianne Malixi etched her name in the record books as the rookie fired a course record and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate tournament-record 8-under, 63, Wednesday at the 6,348-yard, par-71 Long Cove Club in Hilton Head.

Malixi, a native of Manila, Philippines, carded a bogey-free round with eight birdies to shoot 63 in the final round. Her 8-under, 63, marked a new Darius Rucker Intercollegiate 18-hole record as well as the lowest third round score in tournament history. Malixi finished the week with a 4-under, 209, with rounds of 74, 72 and 63.

In Duke history, the round of 63 on a par-71 course is tied for the second-lowest 18-hole score in program history. Over Malixi's last two collegiate events, she has fired a 63 in the final round – Sea Best Intercollegiate and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.

As a team, the Blue Devils fired a tournament-record 8-under, 276, to leap up the leaderboard to finish fourth overall. The 276 was also a tournament-record for third round action by a team. Duke finished ahead of two top-10 teams and a total of six top-20 squads at the end of 54 holes with rounds of 296, 291 and 276 for an 863.

Texas won the event with a 54-hole score of 854, while Florida State (856), Arkansas (862) and Duke (863) rounded out the top four teams.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND THREE

Rianne Malixi was hot from the start as she drained a 35-foot birdie on No. 2 and then hit her 52-degree wedge on No. 3 from 64 yards to three feet for birdie. After a 7-foot birdie on No. 5, Malixi was 3-under through five holes. She struck her 9-iron from 125 yards to three feet for birdie on No. 9 and made the turn at 4-under, 32. Malixi placed her approach from 108 yards on No. 11 to a foot for birdie and then rolled in a 10-foot birdie on No. 12 to get to 6-under-par. She drained an 8-footer for birdie on No. 15 and then rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on No. 18 to finish with the record-breaking score of 63. She hit 12 fairways, 15 greens and had 25 putts.
Junior Katie Li closed the tournament strong with a 2-under, 69, to move up to a tie for 21st, individually. She opened her day with a par on No. 1 and then rolled in a 12-foot birdie on No. 2. She added a 13-foot birdie on No. 5 and hit her 50-degree wedge from 92 yards to two feet for birdie on No. 6. Li, who is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, suffered back-to-back bogeys on No. 8 and No. 9 to make the turn at 1-under, 35. On the back nine, she registered eight pars and a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 13 to close with her 14th career round in the 60s. Li finished with 14 greens, 12 fairways and 30 putts on the day.
Rookie Avery McCrery opened her round with six pars in a row and then sank a 15-footer for birdie on No. 7. She had bogeys on No. 9 and No. 11, but had her putter working again on No. 12 as she rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt to return to even par. McCrery, a product of Wilmington, Delaware, parred the next five holes, before making a bogey on No. 18 to finish with a 1-over, 72.
After making a birdie on her opening hole, Carla De Troia bogeyed the second, but went on to make eight pars in a row. She had bogeys on No. 11 and No. 14, but responded with birdies on No. 15 and No. 17 to return to even par. De Troia suffered a bogey on No. 18 to close with a 72.
Graduate student Andie Smith closed the tournament with an 81 Wednesday.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND TWO

As a team, Duke shot a 7-over, 291 in round two and sat tied for eighth on the team leaderboard with 18 holes remaining with a 587.
The trio of Rianna Malixi, Avery McCrery and Carla De Troia signed for a 1-over, 72, to pace the Blue Devils.
Malixi had Duke's best start to the day with birdies on No. 3 and No. 5 to get to 2-under early. She went on to drop four shots over the next seven holes to fall to 2-over for the day. Malixi added birdies on No. 14 and No. 17 to return to even par, but bogeyed No. 18 to finish with a 72. All four of her birdies were under 10 feet of distance. She hit 10 fairways, 11 greens and had 31 putts on the day.
McCrery opened Tuesday with three pars and then bogeyed No. 4. On the par-4 fifth, she hit her 48-degree wedge from 98 yards to six feet for birdie. She then dropped shots on No. 8 and No. 11. McCrery collected back-to-back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13 to return to even. She drained a 24-footer on the 12th and then hit her 8-iron from 128 yards to two feet on No. 13. After a bogey on No. 15, McCrery struck her 48-degree wedge from 102 yards to four feet for birdie on No. 16 to get back to even again. She bogeyed No. 17 and parred No. 18 to finish with a 72.
De Troia had a slow start to her round with bogeys on No. 1 and No. 7, but sank a birdie on No. 9 to make the turn with a 1-over, 37. After two bogeys to open the back nine, De Troia closed strong with a 2-under score over her final seven holes. She registered birdies on No. 12 and No. 15 to close on fire with a 72.
Both Katie Li and Andie Smith were held without a birdie on the day finishing with a 75 and 76, respectively.
Li continued to lead the field with a 2-under ledger on par-3 holes.
Duke's 119 pars through 36 holes ranked second among the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ROUND ONE

The Blue Devils opened the event with a 12-over, 296, in round one and sat tied for sixth. Duke was only two strokes out of third place. Duke was limited only seven birdies in round one and played the par-5 holes at 3-over-par.
Junior Katie Li led the Blue Devils on day one with a 2-over, 73. After a tough start with four bogeys over her first six holes, Li played the final 11 holes at 1-under-par. Li collected a birdie on No. 13 as she hit a low knockdown 8-iron from 137 to 10 feet and hit another 8-iron from 157 yards on No. 8 to 10 feet as well. She hit 13 greens and 11 fairways. Li led the field with a 2-under-par ledger on par-3 holes.
Both Rianne Malixi and Avery McCrery signed for a 3-over, 74, on day one.
McCrery had three pars and then hit her 7-iron from 136 yards to three feet for birdie on No. 13 to get to 1-under. She then bogeyed three holes in a row. Over her final 11 holes, she played it at 1-over-par to finish with a 74.
Malixi had a back-and-forth day to open action as she bogeyed No. 11 and No. 13 early. She rolled in her first birdie of the day on No. 14 and then added birdies on No. 3 and No. 5. Malixi also had six bogeys on the day to finish with a 74.
Carla De Troia finished the day with a 75 as she was held without a birdie, while graduate student Andie Smith also closed with a 75 with a birdie on No. 18.
Duke's 60 pars ranked tied for first among the field.

NOTES

Rianne Malixi carded a 4-under-31, on the back nine and 4-under, 32, on the front nine Wednesday. Malixi led the field with 15 birdies over the three days.
Over her last two tournaments, Malixi has three rounds in the 60s. She has nine rounds on the season of even or under par.
Malixi is the first Duke golfer to collect multiple rounds of 63 or better.
Duke's 177 pars ranked second among all teams.
Katie Li had 39 pars over the 54 holes and ranked tied for fourth. Li now owns 10 rounds of even or under par on the year.
Carla De Troia's placement of tied for 33rd tied for a season best.
Duke totaled 17 birdies on the day and played the par-5 holes at 2-over-par.

Quotes

"Real proud of our team, for all three days. They stayed patient the whole event and the scores kept getting better because of it. I saw many exciting things on the course that bode well for the season." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks
"It was nice to see the sun out compared to the past two days. And I told myself, I should really take advantage of these conditions, which I did. I hit a lot of really great iron shots, stuck it to within like 15 feet, and then made most of my putts. And then that's where I really got my 63." -- Duke freshman Rianne Malixi

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will return to the state of South Carolina as the Blue Devils compete in The Old Barnwell Derby Match Play March 16-17 in Aiken, South 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                       74-72-63=209 (3, -4)
Katie Li                                  73-75-69=217 (T21, +4)
Avery McCrery                     74-72-72=218 (T25, +5)
Carla De Troia                      75-72-72=219 (T33, +6)
Andie Smith                         75-76-81=232 (T77, +19)
Team                                    296-291-276=863 (4, +11)