ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Putts were falling. Chips were dropping. Seven-under par. Duke was the best team on the golf course.
Too bad it was only for one day.
During the final round of the NCAA Championship at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M., the Blue Devils played like the three-time defending national champions, firing a 7-under 281-the lowest round of any team for the tournament.
But in the three previous days, Duke's play was anything but championship-caliber.
Even the Blue Devils' final round couldn't propel them to victory as they finished in third place behind Southern California and UCLA. The finish ended Duke's bid to capture an unprecedented fourth-consecutive national title.
"Of course, coming into this tournament we wanted a team victory," junior Amanda Blumenherst said. "So I was a little disappointed. But third place-we came back. We shot 7-under today and so that is exciting. It shows that we have the talent. We just put it together."
The final day was a team effort, as four Blue Devils carded their best rounds of the tournament. Blumenherst tied for the best score of the day with a 4-under 68, including four birdies and an eagle. She finished the tournament tied for fifth individually at 3-over.
Junior Jennie Lee also had an outstanding fourth round, highlighted by a hole-in-one on her third hole. She, too, shot 3-under with four birdies and an eagle to put her at 7-over for the competition.
"Duke played golf [Friday]," head coach Dan Brooks said. "I saw two chip-ins and some long putts drop.... It was like, yeah, that's it-that is finally what we do. I got to watch that today and we all got to experience it today. We wish we had another day because we started playing golf today."
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the comeback was not enough.
Duke dug itself an early hole, carding an 11-over 299 on Tuesday, and fell behind by 15 strokes to finish the day in 18th place. The Blue Devils had difficulty with putting, but their struggles would only worsen throughout the tournament as the winds came.
Wednesday brought gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour, causing stoppages of play and disrupting Duke's momentum. A promising start to the round had the Blue Devils 2-over heading into the back nine, but play was suspended before they could complete the round. Upon resuming the round, Duke quickly dropped another seven strokes, ending the day still stuck 15 off the pace.
It was a bittersweet end to the career of senior Jennifer Pandolfi, who was aiming to be the first female collegiate golfer to win four national championships. Instead, she finished on a sour note with a 6-over on the final day-the only Blue Devil to not knock in a birdie.
"It was really sad walking up the 18th with coach," she said. "It was a bummer to play like I did for the last round but I'm happy for the team. We pulled out third place so that really shows what we can do. Too little, too late, I guess."
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