The weekend before the start of the Masters, Duke found itself in Augusta, Ga. for the Augusta State Invitational.
After finishing in sixth place, the Blue Devils left excited about more than just the tournament at Forest Hills Golf Club.
"We are going to the practice round at the Augusta National Course to get a look at the course and the tournament," junior Adam Long said. "It is the first time most of us have ever been there, and we are really looking forward to it."
Despite the opportunity to see Augusta National and the world's greatest golfers, Duke was focused this weekend on fighting for a spot at the NCAA regional championship, which starts May 14. Teams that win more than 50 percent of their matches are eligible to compete in the tournament.
After posting a team score of 11-under 853 and finishing in 6th place out of 17 teams, Duke was able to pick up 11 wins and five losses, bringing it one step closer to their goal. The Blue Devils have clawed their way back to a win percentage just below .500, with only two tournaments left to play.
Augusta State finished in first on its home course, with a significant lead after carding a collective score of 36-under 828, beating Tennessee-Chattanooga by 13 strokes. Kent State, UCF and Coastal Carolina rounded out the top five with team scores of 843, 849 and 849, respectively.
"There were a lot of great golf shots out there," said head coach Jamie Green. "I am proud of the way we scrapped and clawed for every shot, especially on the closing stretch of the second round."
Duke was led by Long and Adam Pierce, who both tied for 17th place, individually, with tournament totals of 4-under 212.
Long carded two 70s on the first day of play and Pierce shot a 6-under-par 138 in the first competitive play since the knee surgery that kept him out of the fall season. Pierce struggled on the last day of the tournament, but sophomore teammate Wes Roach picked up the slack and posted a 2-under 70 to bring his tournament total to a 2-over-par 218.
"The course played tougher on Sunday," said Long. "Scores were higher throughout the field. As a team we shot worse, but stayed in the same position. We were able to play up a little the first day because the course was wet and not in great shape, but that was not the case today. We had to play down and ended up with a lot of unpredictable lies. That was probably the biggest reason for the differences in scoring."
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