Evans Climbs into Top 15 as Duke Sits Sixth at NCAA Championship

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Senior Ethan Evans climbed into the top 15 individually with a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday, helping Duke maintain its position among the nation's top teams after two rounds of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

Evans carded five birdies on the par-72, 7,538-yard North Course to move up 12 places on the individual leaderboard. Through 36 holes, he is tied for 13th at 4-under-par 140 (71-69).

The Blue Devils matched Friday's 2-under-par team total and enter Sunday's third round tied for sixth place at 4-under-par 572. Duke shares sixth with Virginia and Arizona, while Oklahoma State and UCLA are tied for fourth at 7-under-par. Pepperdine and North Carolina sit tied for ninth at 1-under-par. Top-ranked Auburn leads the 30-team field at 20-under-par through two rounds.

Senior William Love joined Evans under par Saturday with a 1-under-par 71, while junior Bryan Kim posted an even-par 72 and senior Daniel Choi battled back on the closing nine for a 2-over-par 74.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke stood at 2-over-par through the opening nine holes, but the Blue Devils rallied on the back side with six birdies and only two bogeys among their four counting scores to finish 2-under-par as a team for the second consecutive round.
Evans turned in an even-par score on the front nine before catching fire down the stretch. He birdied three holes during a bogey-free back nine to secure his 3-under-par 69.
Love opened his round with a birdie on the first hole and added another at No. 8 to reach 2-under-par. After a lone bogey on the ninth, he closed with nine consecutive pars to sign for a 1-under-par 71.
Kim's round featured four birdies and four bogeys, resulting in an even-par 72.
Choi rebounded from a 3-over-par 39 on his opening nine holes with a 1-under-par 35 coming in.

NOTES

Duke recorded its 27th under-par team round of the season Saturday, extending the program's single-season record. The Blue Devils eclipsed the previous mark of 21 under-par rounds set during the 2022-23 campaign.
Evans registered his 13th round in the 60s this season and the 36th sub-70 round of his Duke career.
Through 36 holes, Duke is tied for second in the tournament field in par-4 scoring at 1-over-par.

UP NEXT

Duke returns to action Sunday for the third round of the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The Blue Devils will tee off from the 10th hole alongside Oklahoma State and UCLA beginning at 6:52 a.m. PT.
The top 15 teams following Sunday's third round advance to Monday's fourth round of stroke play, while the top eight teams after 72 holes will move on to match play competition.
Babygrande Golf will continue its live-stream coverage throughout the championship, while live scoring is available through Scoreboard powered by Clippd.

For more information on Duke men's golf, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching @DukeMGOLF.

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