Despite struggling early in the final round of the 2007 TOPY Cup U.S.-Japan Intercollegiate Golf Championship in Fukushima, Japan, Duke recovered on the back nine to hold onto fourth place.
The Blue Devils fired a collective 12-under 852 for the three-day tournament after carding their third consecutive round of 4-under Thursday at the Tanagura Densha Country Club.
"For some reason we got off to a slow start every day," head coach O.D. Vincent said. "We have a great nucleus to build from, but we are very frustrated to not win this event."
Duke was paced in the final round of the tournament by sophomore Adam Long, who posted a 68. Long had two bogeys on the day, but birdied six of eight holes around the turn. His solid play on Day 3 helped him move into a share of 13th place individually, with a tournament total of 3-under par. Senior Michael Schachner was the only other Duke golfer to finish under par Thursday. Schachner fired three straight rounds of 70 in the event.
Duke's top two individual finishers were Schachner and junior Clark Klaasen. Schachner tied for seventh overall at 6-under par, and Klaasen tied for ninth, finishing at 5-under for the tournament. Klaasen closed out the final round with an even-par 72.
Tohoku Fukushi University clinched the team championship with a collective score of 842, defeating Alabama by one stroke. Defending NCAA champion Stanford finished the tournament in third place with a team score of 847, five strokes off the pace. Duke and Nihon University rounded out the top five with scores of 852 and 856, respectively.
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