Battling extremely difficult conditions, as well as a very demanding course, the ninth-ranked men's golf team finished sixth out of 18 teams at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, which finished Tuesday.
"Overall, I had to feel okay about our performance given the strength of the field and the difficulty of the course," head coach Rod Myers said. "Even though we had some of the best players in the country [at this tournament], these are the kind of conditions that separate a really good amateur from a top-flight golf professional."
The Blue Devils were led by ninth-ranked junior Jake Grodzinsky, who was even par after the first two rounds and fired a 4-over 76 Tuesday, finishing the tournament tied for eighth at 4-over par. Grodzinsky was playing one of the day's best rounds until he carded a costly triple-bogey at the par-five 13th. He had played the hole at one under the previous two rounds.
"Jake played tremendous golf out there today," Myers said. "He just had one slip-up on one hole."
Senior Ryan Blaum, who sat in a sixth-place tie at 1-under par after the first two rounds, shot a 79 Tuesday to finish in 17th place. Blaum struggled early, bogeying four of the first five holes, but was able to get back on track in the middle of his round, ending the front nine at three over. A bogey on the par-four 14th, however, derailed his attempt to rally back from his early struggles.
"Fourteen was one of the most difficult holes on the course today," Myers said. "The first two rounds we had guys hitting a driver and a wedge to reach the green. Today, Jake was the only one to reach it in two, and he did it with a driver and two-iron."
Sophomore Michael Schachner and freshman Clark Klaasen played steady golf for the Blue Devils throughout the tournament. They were tied for 58th after the first two rounds and each improved his position Tuesday.
Schachner had recorded 11 pars through the first 17 holes, but suffered a double-bogey on the 18th hole. He still shot a six-over-par 78 and finished the tournament tied for 51st at 15-over par.
Klaasen, making his first collegiate appearance, recovered nicely from two front-nine double-bogeys to shoot a final-round 79 and finished in a tie for 54th.
The biggest problem for Duke, as well as for most other teams in the field, was the number of double and triple-bogeys that the team recorded. Despite the strength of the field, windy conditions pushed the final-round scoring average above 80, five strokes higher than it was in the previous two rounds.
"At 8 a.m. [the wind] was 20 miles per hour and it was probably close to 30 mph for most of the rest of the morning," Myers said. "This is a very demanding golf course anyway, but when you add today's extremely challenging hole locations and windy conditions, it makes it very difficult to score...Every team in this field, with the exception of perhaps Georgia, had to deal with big numbers today."
Some of the high scores can be blamed on the sheer difficulty of the course, but in many instances the culprit was the putter.
"Most people don't realize that windy conditions can have a big effect on putting," Myers said. "It keeps the player off-balance while putting and it can move the ball on the green."
The 54-hole event, held at the Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., drew eleven of the top twenty-five teams in the country.
Top-ranked Georgia won the tournament, finishing at eight over, followed by No. 3 Oklahoma St. at 15-over par. Georgia Tech, ranked second in the nation, came in third at 30 over and No. 20 Wake Forest, which led after two rounds, shot 42-over par Tuesday to finish in a tie for fourth.
The only two individuals who boasted under-par scores for the tournament were No. 1 Pablo Martin from Oklahoma St., who finished at four under and No. 6 Chris Kirk from Georgia, who finished at 2-under par.
Duke's next tournament is Nov. 4-6 at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, held at the Farm Golf Club in Dalton, Ga.
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