Even gusts of wind up to 25 miles per hour didn't blow an injured No. 8 Duke squad too far off course-the Blue Devils finished fourth at the 54-hole Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla. Tuesday to begin their spring.
Seniors Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee finished third and fourth, respectively, on the individual side.
For a team that has won three national championships in the last four years, however, the day wasn't perfect.
"We're going to continue to work on short game," head coach Dan Brooks said. "I think the things we are doing with our long game is well within range of what it needs to be. I mean, there will continue to be work on that, but it seems very manageable to me right now. No major projects. That's a good thing, because that allows us to shift to the short game in practice."
Duke may have finished behind No. 10 Auburn, No. 14 LSU and No. 13 Purdue, but it certainly has faced its share of adversity early in the season. On Jan. 10, Brooks announced that freshman Mina Harigae had left the program to pursue a professional career. Harigae was a significant loss for a team that still has great potential for growth.
Down to just five players on the roster, things got even trickier when junior Alison Whitaker's sore back kept her off the course this weekend. Instead of being able to take the best four scores from out of their five golfers, the Blue Devils were forced to play one golfer short.
"She's won nationals with us, and that's the kind of player you'd like to have in the lineup," Brooks said of Whitaker. "Plus, you diminish your chances because you don't have a throwaway score. I certainly wouldn't blame our finish on that, but it's a significant factor."
And while Blumenherst, the three-time National Player of the Year, and Lee offered tidy performances-posting a 1-under and even, respectively-Brooks has come to expect them at the top of the leaderboard.
"Those two lead in so many ways, in just about every way you can imagine, mostly by example," Brooks said. "They've just been so dedicated throughout their careers here at Duke, and they've been guiding us since they've been freshmen. It's neat to see both of them going under-par as they go into their final semester.... That's definitely going to be a positive for us."
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