Duke is competing in its first team golf tournament this weekend, albeit a little bit later in the season than in years past.
The Blue Devils will be participating in the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at The Ridges in Jonesborough, Tenn. Friday through Sunday.
While the fall season is shorter than the spring season in collegiate golf, typically Duke would have played in a couple of tournaments in September. However, head coach Jamie Green took a different approach and gave his players that month off to recover from their grueling summer schedules. The later start to the season also offered the team’s four freshmen more of a chance to get settled into college and get accustomed with their new surroundings before representing their school on the links.
In fact, the freshmen all made their debuts last week at the Gordin-Myers Collegiate Classic on campus. Rather than entering the tournament as a team, Green entered the freshmen as unaffiliated players, and the results were pleasing.
“We decided to just have the freshman participate in that event,” Green said. “We thought it would be a way to ease them into the program and build their confidence.”
Brinson Paolini, the most heralded member of the incoming class and a participant in the U.S. Amateur over the summer, made a strong first impression. Paolini finished the event at 1-over par, which gave him a second-place finish, just one shot behind winner Kent Copeland of N.C. State.
“Brinson arrived on campus already having achieved a lot in junior and amateur golf,” Green said. “He is terrific from tee to green and just has an ability to make golf shots.”
While certainly impressed with his youngster’s performance, Green did note that Paolini would have won the tournament had he been sharper with his putting stroke. Playing alongside Paolini were Adam Sumrall, Julian Suri and Tim Gornik, who finished fifth, 17th and 22nd, respectively.
With the Collegiate Classic under their belts, the Blue Devils can turn their focus to The Ridges Golf and Country Club where the competition will be much stiffer. There are five other ACC teams playing in the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate as well as a host of other talented players and teams from different regions of the country.
Duke’s top five for this first team event will consist of senior Adam Long, Paolini, junior Wes Roach, sophomore Spencer Anderson and Suri. While Green emphasized that the order isn’t that significant, putting Paolini in the second spot speaks volumes of the rookie’s ability.
Considering that current professionals such as Lucas Glover, Luke Donald, Anthony Kim and Camillo Villegas all made appearances in Jonesborough during their collegiate days, the Blue Devils’ top five should get a good feel for where they stand against some of the country’s best talent.
“If you leave this golf course with hardware, you know you have made a significant accomplishment,” Green said. “I’m excited to see how our guys stack up early on.”
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