Ryan Blaum shot his way to three straight rounds under par, but his play was only good enough for sixth place as he and the Blue Devils failed to defend the individual and team titles at this weekend's ACC Championship at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point in New London, N.C.
After winning just a year ago, the Blue Devils' posted a 2-over-par 866 to finish 33 strokes behind co-leaders North Carolina and Georgia Tech in this year's tournament. Duke finished in eighth place out of 11 teams.
"I didn't expect anyone to shoot the types of numbers Carolina and Georgia Tech did," head coach Rod Myers said. "It's disappointing to be beat by so many teams."
Duke, ranked 16th nationally, never made a serious run at the top of the leaderboard, finishing the first day in seventh place. After playing 5-over par in a second round that was delayed twice and spanned two days because of thunderstorms, the Blue Devils rallied Sunday.
But their 2-under-par mark still left the team at 2-over par for the tournament-a disappointing finish considering just three ACC teams rank higher than Duke.
"It was almost a simple thing for us-a lack of good putting," Myers said. "We didn't see the ball go in much."
Blaum, a senior who is ranked seventh in the country, carded a 3-under-par 69 in his final round to vault himself from 16th to sixth place.
"Ryan hit the ball very well," Myers said. "Sixty-nine was probably the worst he could have shot."
The defending ACC champions finished at 6-under par with rounds of 70, 71 and 69 on the par-72 course.
"I know it was disappointing for him not to get anything going," Myers said. "He just needed a few more birdies."
Jake Grodzinsky, ranked 19th in the nation, also saved his best for last, carding a 2-under-par 70 in the final round to finish in a tie for 28th place at 1-over par.
Heading into the final 18 holes Sunday, sophomore Michael Schachner and freshman Clark Klaasen held identical score cards, and they ended up finishing the tournament one stroke apart. Schachner finished in 34th place at 3-over par, while Klaasen came in a tie for 35th at 4-over for the tournament.
The results were a far cry from last year's effort, when Duke's top four finishers placed 1st, 4th and two tied for 24th.
"It's extremely disappointing," Myers said. "Essentially we had all the the same guys back from last year."
Myers remained confident that his squad, which has won two tournaments this season, would qualify for the NCAA Championship without trouble.
"This was certainly a down week for us," he said. "We just need to regroup, be positive, and work on the putting greens."
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