The NCAA Fall Preview is hosted on New Mexico's Championship Course in Albequerque, N.M., home of the 2007 national championship. And if Duke's performance in the tournament is any indication, the team is well on its way to its fourth consecutive national championship.
Led by runner-up Amanda Blumenherst's 11-under 208, the Blue Devils won the Fall Preview Wednesday, finishing at 16-under to best second-place finisher USC by one stroke.
For the Blue Devils, it was encouraging to win on the links where they will aim for their fourth straight national title in May.
"It's always good to win, particularly on the course where the NCAA is going to be played," head coach Dan Brooks said. "We kept learning the course, which is a good thing. We're better able to play this course now than when we started."
Duke had plenty to find out about the playing conditions in New Mexico. The Blue Devils led wire-to-wire for their sixth win in their last eight tournaments, but they utilized the three rounds to further understand the course's whipping winds and the effects of the links' elevation.
"You really have to figure out the change," said Blumenherst, a junior. "It's kind of like a game, the par-3s especially. It definitely gets you thinking."
Blumenherst-who tied for the lowest final round with a 6-under 67-ended up four strokes behind individual winner Dewi Claire Schreefel from USC. The two-time defending National Player of the Year carded 12 birdies and no bogeys in the tournament's final 27 holes.
Blumenherst's 11-under 135 was also the tournament's lowest combined total from Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a stark contrast from her even-par Monday round, when the altitude often carried her shots 10 yards farther than she wanted. The difference on the last two days? Simply playing the course more.
"It was a big change to get used to," said Blumenherst, who missed several short putts that would have lowered her score even more. "By yesterday's back nine and today, I had dialed it in."
Complementing Blumenherst was fellow junior Jennie Lee, who replicated her Monday score of 3-under 70 on Wednesday to finish tied for sixth overall. In the final round, Lee posted seven birdies to add to her two-day total of five.
The Blue Devils return to action Oct. 5 for the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, where they will compete on the familiar Finley Golf Course and won't exactly have to struggle with altitude.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.