The men's golf team heads to Fayetteville, Ga., this weekend in an attempt to put a shine on an otherwise average season.
Despite having gone the entire spring season without finishing in the top half of a tournament's field, the Blue Devils are nonetheless optimistic about their chances at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.
"I think our team's chances this weekend are good," senior Jason Buha said. "We can definitely win this tournament."
The tournament, held at the Whitewater Country Club in Fayetteville, is a 54-hole event, with rounds being played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each team sends five players, and the top four scores from each round counts toward the team's total.
Duke is coming off of the Ping Invitational Tournament last weekend, where it finished seventh out of the 12 teams participating. The event gave the Blue Devils optimism about their chances this weekend.
"We were pretty solid at the Ping," Duke coach Rod Myers said. "It gave us consistency and strength. However, we still need some lower scores to be successful this weekend."
Buha, currently ranked No. 59 nationally, is playing his penultimate match for Duke. After winning the Keswick Club Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va., and finishing in the top five in two other tournaments in the fall, he has struggled this spring, finishing no higher than tenth in any competition. He hopes to change that this weekend.
"Personally, I've been playing pretty mediocre all spring," Buha said. "But I'm starting to get a better feel on the grass. I feel better with the putter in my hands.... Sometimes the difference between winning a tournament and finishing in the top 20 is a few putts every round. Now I'm starting to feel like those putts may fall for me."
Myers' confidence in Buha is growing, and the coach said that he feels the senior has an excellent chance of doing well this weekend.
"I don't think there's any question that he is one of the best golfers in the ACC," Myers said.
Contending with Buha for the individual crown will be last year's ACC Rookie of the Year, Tim Clark of North Carolina State. Clark is one of five returning members of last year's All-ACC team, along with Mark Wilson of UNC, and Richard Coughlan, Joey Maxon, and Charles Warren of Clemson. All of these players return this year to vie for the title of ACC Player of the Year. Last year the award went to Simon Cooke of Virginia.
The Blue Devils have won the ACC Championships five times, but haven't posted a victory since 1966. This year Duke is an underdog, as the favorites for the title are No. 4 Clemson, No. 7 North Carolina and tenth-ranked Wake Forest. The Tar Heels have won the tournament the past two years. These three powerhouses are so strong that Myers said he felt that finishing in the top four was a good goal for his team.
"But if we get hot, we can make some things happen," the coach noted.
The tournament is being held on a brand-new golf course this year, and this is the first time since 1971 that the Championships will not be held in North Carolina. The change of venue creates a more level playing field for the golfers, because every team is seeing the course for the first time and experience plays less of a factor.
"Anything can happen in team golf," Buha said. "I think we've got a good chance of winning."
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