Duke Finishes 13th at NCAA Championship; Evans Ties for 10th Individually

Friday, May 29

Carlsbad, Calif.

Duke University

NCAA Championship

Duke Finishes 13th at NCAA Championship; Evans Ties for 10th Individually

6/1/2026 10:51:00 PM | Men's Golf

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Senior Ethan Evans registered a final-round 2-under-par 70 on Monday to lead Duke in the fourth and final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, helping the Blue Devils secure a 13th-place finish at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

Duke closed the tournament with a 5-over-par 293 in the final round and posted a 72-hole total of 4-over-par 1156 (286-286-291-293). The Blue Devils finished 13th in the 30-team national championship field, marking the program's best NCAA Championship finish since placing second in 2018.

Evans capped a remarkable championship performance with his fourth consecutive under-par round, finishing tied for 10th place individually at 7-under-par 281 (71-69-71-70). Senior William Love also concluded his collegiate career with a strong showing, tying for 28th place at 1-under-par 287 (72-71-71-73).

Under the direction of first-year Duke head coach Bob Heintz, the Blue Devils were one of just eight teams to stand under par through the first three rounds of competition and advanced to the fourth round of stroke play for the first time since 2018.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke registered a 2-under-par 286 to sit tied for fourth place after the opening round of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship on Friday.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils stood at 2-over-par through the opening nine holes before rallying 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.
After two rounds, Duke was tied for sixth place at 4-under-par as a team.
During Sunday's third round, Evans collected four birdies over his first 10 holes before closing in dramatic fashion on the 426-yard par-4 ninth hole, holing out his approach shot for eagle to finish with a 1-under-par 71.
Love battled through a difficult opening nine that left him 5-over for the round before producing one of Sunday's strongest closing stretches. He carded six birdies on his final nine holes, including birdies on five of his last six holes, to shoot 6-under-par 30 on the front side and finish with a 1-under-par 71.
One of only eight teams under par through three rounds, Duke qualified for the final round of stroke play and entered Monday at 1-under-par 863.
After opening the fourth and final round of stroke play with a pair of birdies on the 10th hole, the Blue Devils finished their first 10 holes at 8-over-par as a team.
Duke closed the national championship in gritty fashion, shooting 3-under-par over its final eight holes.
Evans sparked the late charge with three birdies during a bogey-free closing nine en route to his final-round 70.

NOTES

Duke's 13th-place finish is the program's best performance at the NCAA Championship since placing second in 2018.
The Blue Devils established a program record for best 72-hole score in relation to par at the NCAA Championship, finishing at 4-over-par 1156. The previous mark was 8-over-par 1160 by the 2018 team.
Duke became the first team in program history to hold an under-par score after 36 holes of NCAA Championship competition. The Blue Devils' 4-under-par total surpassed the previous program best of 2-over-par by the 2018 squad.
Evans shattered the Duke NCAA Championship record for 72-hole score in relation to par, finishing at 7-under-par 281. He bettered the previous standard by three strokes, set by John Karcher in 1990.
Evans' tie for 10th place is the best individual finish by a Blue Devil at the NCAA Championship since Ryan Blaum also tied for 10th in 2006.
Duke recorded its 27th under-par team round of the season on Saturday, extending the program's single-season record. The previous mark of 21 under-par rounds was 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.
Evans was one of only five players in the championship field to record an under-par score in all four rounds.
Duke made its 26th appearance as a team at the NCAA Championship since its first trip in 1939.

QUOTES

Duke senior Ethan Evans about the NCAA Championship experience: "It's meant a lot. I think more for the team to be here. We definitely didn't have the mindset of just being happy to be here, but deep down, where we were a few months ago, it was good to have a chance to give it a run this week; and then making that first cut, that's something that we haven't done since I've been here. Obviously, there was some individual pressure for some things I was playing for this week, but I was kind of more looking at the team and how we could get to match play. Unfortunately, we fell short, but overall I'm going to have great memories from this week, and I'm just happy that we had one last four-day event and went out on a high note."
Duke head coach Bob Heintz about the team's postseason accomplishments: "There's a lot of media that didn't choose us to even get out of regionals, so to come here and compete and be right there for a very long time, and to get as far as we did, that's a really nice accomplishment. We obviously had dreams of going further, but we just ran out of magic there on the last day, but super proud of these kids... a great group of guys."

DUKE RESULTS
13th – Duke – 286-286-291-293 = 1156 (+4)
T10 – Ethan Evans – 71-69-71-70 = 281 (-7)
T28 – William Love – 72-71-71-73 = 287 (-1)
T65 – Bryan Kim – 71-72-78-74 = 295 (+7)
T70 – Ollie Mukherjee – 72-77-72-76 = 297 (+9)
T80 – Daniel Choi – 74-74-77-79 = 304 (+16)

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