This was supposed to be Duke's year.
Entering the season ranked fourth in the nation, led by a first-team All-American and coming off their first ACC title in 40 years, the Blue Devils were aiming for the program's first national title.
But all year, through both the fall and spring seasons, the team never put together the whole package. Three good scores would be accompanied by two mediocre rounds, and the team would fall out of contention.
This past weekend at the NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore., the trend of inconsistency continued. After surging back into contention with the best third-round score in the field and climbing as high as fifth place in the final round, Duke collapsed on its last three holes. Of the four rounds that counted, the Blue Devils shot five over on the home stretch to fall to a 12th-place finish, which Myers called disappointing.
"It seems like we could have done a lot better," Myers said. "That's the frustrating part. We were as low as fifth place at one point-make another birdie or two and we get into the trophy lineup of the top four."
Senior Ryan Blaum, Duke's All-American from last season, paced Duke in his final collegiate tournament, finishing the four rounds at 2-under par and in a 10th-place tie. Myers said Blaum, the ACC Player of the Year, was slightly upset at his finish, even though he carded a score five strokes better than any other Blue Devil.
Blaum's best round of the tournament, a 3-under-par 69 on day three, could have been even better, his coach said.
"Ryan was very close to having a special day," Myers said. "He really hit the ball extremely well. He had a number of good looks at birdie putts, but he didn't quite make enough of them."
Myers said it was unfortunate that Blaum's illustrious career could not have ended on a higher note. In his four years at Duke, Blaum was twice named ACC Player of the Year. He led Duke to three NCAA tournaments but finished no better than this year's 10th individually.
In U.S. Open sectional qualifying Tuesday, Blaum finished in a three-way tie for his section's final bid. He lost in the playoff, and he will be the second alternate from his site into the field at Winged Foot next weekend.
"He's the best player I've coached since I've been at Duke, and I don't think No. 2 is even close," Myers said. "It's going be hard to fill his shoes. He was there every day, every round, with enthusiasm and leadership all the time. We're not going to fill his spot."
Even though the team did not meet its own expectations for the NCAAs, Blaum's leadership skills were on display in the third round.
After starting the third day of the tournament tied for 18th place, the Blue Devils knew they needed a low score to finish in the top 15 and make the cut for the final day. Led by Blaum's 69, Duke recorded a score of 4-under par, equaling the lowest team round of the day.
Junior Jake Grodzinsky, who had been ranked as high as ninth nationally this season and who finished ninth at a tournament on the same course this past fall, could not regain his dominant ways this week. He was even-par after the first 12 holes of round one, but two double bogeys in three holes dropped him four strokes.
Grodzinsky finished the day with a 3-over 75. He notched two rounds of one over and one at 2-under par on the final three days to finish the tournament at three over in a tie for 39th place.
Freshman Clark Klaasen, who only recently entered the lineup on a permanent basis, also finished in 39th place, but Myers was impressed with his performance.
"One of the bright sides is that we got a really solid tournament from Clark," Myers said. "As a freshman, he really brought his game to another level. I really liked the way he carried himself and his attitude. We have great expectations for him the next three years."
Duke's other two players, sophomores Michael Schachner and Michael Quagliano, struggled throughout the tournament, finishing in 73rd and 77th place, respectively. Quagliano's opening two holes of the first round-a double bogey and a triple bogey-set the tone for his weekend, as he finished the opening round with a 10-over-par 82. His final-round 73 was his only mark better than 5-over par.
Schachner fared better over his first 69 holes, but his final three holes included a double bogey and a quadruple bogey, which dropped him to seven over on the day and 12 over for the tournament.
Oklahoma State, led by NCAA individual champion Jonathan Moore, won the championship by three strokes over Florida.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.