After the first day of action at the NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore., Duke is alone in 14th place at 2-over par, 13 strokes behind leader Wake Forest.
As a team, the 20th-ranked Blue Devils carded seven holes of double bogey or worse, but they notched 15 birdies to stay in the running.
"Some of [the double bogeys] are poor decision-making, others are just poor shots," head coach Rod Myers said. "There are a lot of water and wetlands, you make a bad shot, you're locked into double bogey. Those things killed us."
Duke was led by Michael Schachner, who fired a 1-under 71 in the four-day tournament's opening round and sits in a tie for 28th place. The sophomore turned in five birdies on the afternoon and carded only one double bogey on the par-five sixth hole.
Senior Ryan Blaum and freshman Clark Klaasen finished one stroke behind their teammate and are in a 51st-place tie at even par. Both players were over par on the opening nine holes, but they rebounded on the back nine and got back to even before the round was over.
Jake Grodzinsky, who had six top 10 finishes in the regular season and was named to the All-ACC team, shot a 3-over 75 to round out Duke's scoring at 290.
"Watching our guys play in practice rounds, they're as ready to play as they have been all year," Myers said.
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