Duke confident going into ACC’s

The Blue Devils will look to carry momentum from an impressive showing two weeks ago into the ACC Championship, which tees off this morning at the Old North State Golf Club in New London, N.C.

A young Duke squad heads into the weekend with two golfers who have never played in an ACC Championship before, but head coach Jamie Green is confident his team is ready for the challenge.

“I know we’ve got the talent for it,” Green said. “Any time you’re going into a single round and you can have any one of your guys put up the best number—or win the tournament—you know you can be competitive. Their composure is really strong right now.”

One of those newcomers, standout freshman Julian Suri, finished in a tie for second in the Wolfpack Intercollegiate April 10, a tournament won by senior Adam Long. Suri has put together an impressive catalog of efforts already, and a team-leading 30 percent of his rounds have been under par.

Suri and the rest of the No. 23 Blue Devils will be tested by the 7,202-yard, par-72 Old North State layout, and it will be essential for Duke to put up a competitive score on the first day. Last year, the Blue Devils could not make up for an opening-day 290 that placed them nine shots behind eventual winner Georgia Tech.

“Anytime you’ve got players of the caliber of all these teams, giving them a spot of seven or eight shots is going to be a tough margin [to come back from],” Green said. 

This marks the ninth consecutive year that the ACC Championship has been held in New London, and Green is banking on his players’ familiarity with the tricky Tom Fazio design to help Duke get out to a fast start.

“They’re confident, they’re calm and they took great notes,” Green said. “[Wes Roach and Long] were sharing their experiences on the course [with the younger players] in the practice round. Adam can say, ‘I’ve holed out of this bunker’ or ‘I made a great birdie from here’—it’s good to spread those vibes around.”