For once, the best Devils on the course were not wearing blue and white.
Instead, it was No. 4 Arizona State that out-played Duke down the stretch to secure a victory in the Stanford Women's Intercollegiate Sunday afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif. Second-ranked Duke surrendered a 12-stroke lead in the final round, eventually losing the team competition to the Sun Devils by four strokes to finish in second.
Duke had won six of its last eight tournaments, and the three-time defending national champions were not accustomed to giving up Sunday leads.
"I have to hand it to Arizona State," Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. "Sunday was the kind of day for low scoring-they did it, and we didn't play our best golf today."
Arizona State's four golfers shot 11-under-par over the final six holes, a remarkable run which proved to be the difference in a tournament previously dominated by Duke. The Blue Devils shot 2-under on the first day of the tournament, highlighted by junior Amanda Blumenherst's 5-under 66. They shot 8-over on the tournament's second day but still found themselves nursing a sizable lead, which evaporated Sunday.
"We all played really well on the first day," junior Jennie Lee said. "Unfortunately, Sunday was one of those days when the ball wasn't rolling the way we wanted it to."
Arizona State's back-nine run was sparked by the trio of Jennifer Osborn, Azahara Munoz and Anna Nordqvist. The top three Sun Devils shot a combined 10-under Sunday, whereas the Duke trio of Blumenherst, Lee and sophomore Alison Whitaker shot a combined 4-over.
"We have to commend Arizona State for making it look easy out there," Whitaker said. "There were a lot of difficult pin placements out there, and our putting is where the tournament was lost. We knew Arziona State was making a charge, and we just tried to hang in there."
Blumenherst, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the country and two-time defending National Player of the Year, posted a 5-under 66 Friday and a 2-over 73 Saturday, good for first place heading into the last round. But the junior faltered Sunday, carding a 5-over 76, which included three bogeys and two double bogeys. She finished tied for fifth overall with a 2-over 215.
Arkansas' Stacy Lewis won the individual tournament with a 2-under 211, edging out Arziona State and Duke's top golfers. Whitaker also finished with a 2-over 215, and Lee ended one stroke behind.
Up next for Duke is a three-day match play event in Reunion, Fla. that starts Nov. 4. Considering that Blumenherst, Lee and Whitaker are all former semifinalists in the U.S. Amateur Championship, the NGCA Women's Collegiate Match Play Championship could be a welcome respite in the Blue Devils' fall schedule.
"Match play is slightly more relaxed than stroke play," Whitaker said. "It's more relaxing scoring-wise. You only have to worry about the girl who you're playing against. We can also usually watch more of the other girls' matches and cheer them on."
For the moment, though, Duke can only move on from its second-place finish and continue the drive for a fourth consecutive national championship.
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