After a slow start, the Blue Devils once again found themselves facing a huge deficit like they did for much of their fall season.
But in its spring opener, Duke showed resilience to post the second-best round of any team Sunday and leap up the leaderboard to post a solid finish.
The Blue Devils finished seventh at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at historic Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., getting under-par rounds from freshman Adam Wood and Turner Southey-Gordon to move up four spots in the final round with a one-over-par 289. Duke was 39-over-par in the first 36 holes, but gained some momentum to close the event led by Wood. The standout freshman tied the best individual score of the day with a two-under-par 70 and finished tied for seventh.
"We are looking at every 18-hole round as a new tournament," head coach Jamie Green told GoDuke.com. "We used [Saturday] afternoon to sharpen some of the things that we felt were going to help us score better today. I give credit to every single one of these guys. They were out in a driving rain after yesterday's round to get every little bit of improvement and preparation for today's round and it paid off."
Wood's final round helped the Zionsville, Ind., native move up 14 spots on the leaderboard and led to his fourth top-20 in six career starts and fourth under-par round, both team highs. Wood needed just three birdies to post the solid finish Sunday, showing the consistency of a veteran on a course that hosted the PGA Tour's Players Championship from 1977-82 before the event moved to nearby TPC Sawgrass.
"I hit the ball well from tee to green and putted quite well from 10 feet and in," Wood told GoDuke.com. "That combination made the round less stressful and patience helped me get a few birdies on my final nine holes."
Although he didn't show the consistency Wood did throughout the week, Southey-Gordon's final-round one-under-par 71 was also huge for the senior, who shot 17-over-par through his first 36 holes. The lefty finished tied for 53rd.
Sophomore Alexander Matlari was the Blue Devils' second-best finisher of the weekend, finishing tied for 34th at 11-over-par after a final-round 73. Jake Shuman was Duke's final contributor to Sunday's strong round, posting a three-over-par 75 to finish tied for 62nd.
The course tested the field of 15 teams throughout the three-day event, with the winning team—Texas—finishing at eight-over-par. Only one individual—Longhorn standout Beau Hossler, who briefly led the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Golf Club—finished under par for the tournament.
Duke will look to build on the momentum from a strong final round March 13-15 at the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Ore.
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