In the first day of the first tournament played without its head coach, No. 20 Duke came out strong and finished in sixth at the Puerto Rico Classic at the River Course at Rio Mar Golf Club Sunday.
With head coach Rod Myers temporarily sidelined as he is being treated for cancer, the Blue Devils traveled to Puerto Rico with interim head coach Brad Sparling, and they collectively went 4-under-par on their first day of play.
"I was very proud of our effort today, and I know Coach Myers would have been, too," Sparling said. "We all played well under tough conditions. We have been working very hard on being more consistent as a team. To have all five guys in the scoring mix was nice to see today."
The well-rounded team effort was led by senior Jake Grodzinsky and junior Michael Schachner, who both fired 2-under-par 70s and are currently tied for 13th place on the leaderboard.
Grodzinsky shot four birdies on the back nine, and Schachner had only three bogeys over his entire round.
Sophomore Clark Klaasen shot a 1-under 71 and is 24th in the standings, while freshman Adam Long finished 1-over for the day, leaving him in a tie for 44th.
Play continues today when Duke begins its second round at 7 a.m.
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