After suffering a nightmare final round in their second event of the season, the Blue Devils will look to bounce back in the first annual event for the most prestigious Nike Elite schools in the country.
Duke will compete at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational starting Monday at historic Colonial Country Club in Forth Worth, Texas. The inaugural event for Nike Elite golf programs features 12 teams sponsored by Nike, including eight ranked squads and four top-10 teams. The tournament will feature 54 holes played in two days.
"The tournament has been a lot of months, and even years, in the making, with the folks at Nike Golf," head coach Jamie Green said. "We're just very fortunate to be one of the schools that is a beneficiary of their sponsorship. The guys learned a lot about club-making and all sorts of things that have to do with Nike apparel [Saturday]. It's a neat Nike experience for our guys."
After shooting 20-over-par in their last team round in the Dick's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup Sept. 21, the Blue Devils need to build positive momentum with their own tournament, the Rod Myers Invitational, looming later this week.
With only one fall tournament remaining for Duke after the week, freshmen Adam Wood and Jake Shuman will look to continue leading the Blue Devils as they have so far early in the year.
Wood finished tied for eighth in Duke's first tournament of the season—The Invitational at the Ocean Course—and has shot even par or better in three of his six competitive rounds. In the match play portion of the Dick's Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup, Wood dominated his opponent, winning the match after just 13 holes.
But despite some of his early-season success, the touted amateur golfer from Zionsville, Ind., has still not performed up to his own personal standards.
"He's been pretty disappointed about how he's started some of these rounds," Green said. "He's thought a lot about that and worked on how to get off to better starts."
Shuman has posted an impressive 71.3 stroke average in first and second round play this season, but has been derailed by poor final rounds in both of his starts, failing to break 80 both times he has had a chance to post strong finishes.
If the duo can keep control of their nerves throughout the tournament and show more consistency as the season progresses, they could establish themselves as anchors for head coach Jamie Green's program going forward.
Returners Max Greyserman, Michael Ricaurte and Turner Southey-Gordon will round out Duke's lineup. A sophomore, Greyserman has struggled this year after showing flashes of brilliance a year ago during his freshman campaign. But the Short Hills, N.J., native is coming off a strong final-round 72 in his last full stroke-play round and could turn it around with a solid performance this week.
The senior duo of Ricaurte and Southey-Gordon is also looking for any positive signs as the pair has been struggling for the Blue Devils on the course since last year.
"Guys are just working from tee to green to keep their ball down to control their ball flight and hit more of a go-to shot and predictable shot," Green said. "Guys just need to rely on more of a go-to shot and making that shot work."
Junior Motin Yeung—who was Duke's most consistent performer last season—will not play this week after competing in South Korea at the Asian Games last week. The Beijing, China, native shot a final-round 69 to finish tied for 37th.
The Blue Devils that are competing will get the rare privilege on competing on one of the PGA Tour's most unique venues. Colonial has hosted an annual PGA event since 1946—the longest running non-major event held at the same site each year—and is nicknamed "Hogan's Alley" for the great Ben Hogan.
The nine-time major champion resided in Forth Worth and won at Colonial five times. The event Colonial hosts is currently called the Crowne Plaza Invitational and draws some of the world's best players each May. Adam Scott won the event this year, besting Jason Dufner in a playoff, but Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and several other top players made time to compete on the difficult par-70 layout.
Duke will look to make the most of its opportunity to compete on the hallowed course and jump-start its season in the process.
"It's cool for the guys to be able to watch TV and see the best players in the world and know 'Hey, I was on that hole, hit that shot and was in that position,'" Green said. "They're relishing the opportunity."
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