Blue Devils in Fifth, Malixi Tied for Sixth at NCAA Regionals

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Duke women's golf freshman Rianne Malixi carded a 1-under-par, 70, Tuesday in the second round of the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional to move into a tie for sixth on the individual leaderboard, while the second-seeded Blue Devils are in fifth as a team. Duke owns a 36-hole total of 576 and is only seven shots off the lead with 18 holes remaining at the 6,260-yard, par-71 University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor.

Malixi, a native of Manila, Philippines, turned in one of eight under par rounds Tuesday as the scores increased with challenging conditions. She has totaled rounds of 71 and 70 for a 1-under, 141, and is six shots off the individual lead. Malixi's roommate, Avery McCrery, turned in an even-par, 71, to move into a tie for 18th.

After Wednesday's final round, the top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship May 22-27 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke opened its second round on hole No. 10 at 8 a.m., Tuesday morning. The Blue Devils featured only three birdies over their first nine holes, but closed strong with eight birdies over the final nine.
Rianne Malixi was 1-over through five holes, but got things rolling on the 379-yard, par-4 No. 15 as she drained a 20-foot birdie to return to even. She hit a low 9-iron on No. 17 from 123 yards to less than a foot for birdie to get in the red. After making the turn, Malixi had a great chip on the par-5 first hole and placed it within inches for birdie to move to 2-under. After bogeys on No. 2 and No. 7, Malixi closed strong by hitting her 52-degree wedge from 101 yards to four feet for birdie to finish with a 1-under, 70. She hit 13 greens, 11 fairways and had 31 putts.
On the front nine, Avery McCrery had seven pars and two bogeys, but regrouped on the next nine by playing the stretch at 2-under-par. She got things started by hitting her 54-degree wedge from 65 yards to four feet for birdie on the 486-yard, par-5 first hole. McCrery, a product of Wilmington, Delaware, then sank a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 2 to get to even par for the day. She had five pars and one bogey over the next six holes, before sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to finish at even-par, 71. McCrery hit 10 greens and had 31 putts on the day.
Katie Li featured Duke's best start to the day as she drained a 9-foot par putt on No. 10 and then rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to get to 1-under. She struggled over the next seven holes playing them at 4-over-par. Li, who is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, opened the next nine with five pars. She then hit her 58-degree wedge from 58 yards away on the 308-yard, par-4 sixth hole. Li ran the ball up the hill on the green and it came back down and stopped within inches of the cup for birdie. She added another birdie on No. 8 as she sank a 12-foot birdie. Li hit her drive on No. 9 left and had to punch out before finishing the round with a bogey and a 2-over, 73. She hit 12 greens and had 32 putts Tuesday.
Graduate student Andie Smith had a tough start in the second round as she was 5-over through 14 holes, before notching her lone birdie of the day. She struck her 60-degree wedge from 63 yards on No. 6 to 10 feet for birdie. Smith, a native of Hobe Sound, Florida, finished with a 76.
Anna Cañado Espinal was held without a birdie Tuesday and signed for an 80.

NOTES

Rianne Malixi now leads Duke with 15 rounds of even or under par, which ranks seventh on Duke's freshman record charts.
Avery McCrery totaled her 11th round of even or under par with her 71 in the second round.
Out of 11 career rounds in the NCAA Regionals, Andie Smith's 76 Tuesday is the highest she has shot in her career.
Duke owns 23 birdies over the first two days to rank sixth.
Katie Li ranks tied for first with a 1-under score on par-3 holes through two rounds.
Heading into the final round, Ohio State (569) leads the field with Northwestern (570), Southern California (570), Texas Tech (573), Duke (576), UCF (581) and Kansas (589) rounding out the top seven teams.
Ashley Yun of Northwestern leads the individual action with a 7-under, 135.
The stroke average Tuesday rose to 75.11, after a 73.73 was shot in round one.

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will tee off Wednesday in the final round beginning at 8 a.m., along with Texas Tech and UCF off hole No. 10.

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

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Duke Results
Rianne Malixi                                 71-70=141 (-1, T6)
Avery McCrery                               73-71=144 (+2, T18)
Katie Li                                            72-73=145 (+3, T23)
Andie Smith                                    70-76=146 (+4, T27)
Anna Cañado Espinal                   75-80=155 (+13, T52)
Team                                               286-290=576 (+8, 5th)