After receiving a standing ovation on the football field and having a golfer named Golfweek Player of the Week, Duke has certainly received recognition and notoriety on and off the golf course. The Blue Devils will have a chance to add to that with a strong performance in this weekend’s Annika Intercollegiate tournament.
Coming off an impressive third-place finish in last week’s Cougar Classic, No. 3 Duke will look to keep the momentum going in the 12-team tournament beginning Sunday at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla. The 54-hole event concludes with the final round Tuesday.
“We’re feeling good going into this. Everybody seems to be healthy and we have a hard-working group, “ head coach Dan Brooks said. “They're ready to go play in the tournament.”
The members of the team playing in this weekend’s tournament are junior Celine Boutier, sophomore Sandy Choi, freshman twins Leona and Lisa Maguire and junior Yi Xiao. The Blue Devils remain without freshman Gurbani Singh, who is competing in this week’s Asian Games in Korea. The return of Boutier—the defending National Player of the Year—will be a much-anticipated boost for the team after she competed in the U.S. Women’s Open and Evian Championship this summer, will be a much-anticipated boost for the team.
Although the return of Boutier is likely to receive a good deal of attention before the start of the tournament, the recent play of Choi is perhaps the biggest storyline coming into the event. After shooting 11-under-par in her victory at the Cougar Classic, Choi was named Golfweek's National Player of the Week.
“She’s a really good player and one of the best thinkers I’ve ever coached. She keeps it real simple and she’s the best at knowing her game,“ Brooks said. “A big part of being a golfer is knowing what you’re good at and not so good at and she’s very good at playing to her strengths and weaknesses.”
Nothing will come easy for Choi and the other Duke golfers, as this year’s Annika Intercollegiate is shaping up as one of the deepest fields in event history. The tournament features seven of the top 10 teams in the country, including top-ranked Southern California and second-ranked UCLA.
“The field is very good. This is the first time this team has ever played at this golf course, “ Brooks said. "We just need all the basic shots, which we’ve been developing over the semester, so we should be in good shape.”
As the team prepares to head to Florida, the Blue Devils plan to use this week’s practices' to make minor adjustments to their individual games.
“We have been working individually after doing some short-game stuff together," Brooks said. "Lisa Maguire is making some swing adjustments and everybody else is doing general prep for the tournament."
With the challenge of top teams waiting, the Annika Intercollegiate will serve as a benchmark for the squad early in the season. It will certainly take another strong overall effort by the golfers to turn in a top-five finish.
But led by Brooks and his six national titles, the Blue Devils haven't finished outside the top five at any tournament since the spring of 2013, meaning Duke should be equipped to handle the intense competition.
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