Paced by freshman Adam Wood’s two-under-par third round, the Blue Devils made up some lost ground on the final day of the ACC championship, but not enough to make a difference on the leaderboard.
Duke took home 10th place at the ACC championship at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C., Sunday, matching their performance from last year. No. 10 Georgia Tech captured the team title in a two-hole playoff against Clemson after the two teams were locked in a 19-under-par tie after three rounds. Second-ranked Florida State finished third, carding 18-under-par for the weekend.
“It wasn’t the tournament that any of these guys wanted, but at the same time it was the culmination of a lot of hard work,” Duke head coach Jamie Green said. “Our guys showed a lot of fortitude this spring. For them to work as hard as they did and bounce back from being under .500 at the end of the fall season is a win within itself."
Building on what has been an impressive freshman season, Wood powered his team at the ACC championship, carding three even-par or better performances to finish tied for 14th. The Zionsville, Ind., native began the weekend by making five straight pars before sliding to two-over on the back nine. The freshman rebounded, though, draining birdies on holes 16 and 17 to finish the day at even-par.
The second day of competition was met with intermittent showers and colder temperatures, but Wood prevailed against the elements, turning in another even-par ledger after closing out the back nine with back-to-back birdies. On the final day of competition, the freshman cruised, reaching a mark of four-under-par before stumbling with a double-bogey on the sixth hole.
“From [Wood] especially in the third round, it was nice to see he made enough birdies to offset the time when he did get set back," Green said. “The golf course that we played at this weekend…it’s really about keeping the ball playable. As long as you do that, you’re going to hit a lot more greens. [Wood] did a really good job of that.”
Freshman Jake Shuman closed out the weekend with a one-under-par performance en route to a 32nd place finish. Shuman opened the weekend with a two-over-par ledger, bogeying his first two holes before battling back down the stretch and making birdie on his last hole of the day.
The Needham, Mass., native posted a similar performance on the second day, falling to four-over after getting tripped up early. Despite the setback, Shuman remained poised down the stretch, making birdie on his final hole for the second time in as many days to close out the round at three-over-par.
Shuman found more success in the third round, as three birdies and an eagle on the par-four 15th hole catapulted the freshman to a one-under-par round in his first ACC championship.
“[Shuman’s eagle] was the shot of the tournament for us,” Green said. “He hit the ball about 164 yards from the hole. It landed on the green and it was one of those shots where the player wasn’t able to see what happened on the green. It tracked straight toward the hole, hit the flagpole and went in. [Shuman] and I heard it, threw our arms up and hollered. It was a pretty cool moment and it was a kickstart for his round.”
For seniors Turner Southey-Gordon and Michael Ricaurte, the 54 holes of golf held extra significance, as the tournament might have been the duo’s last opportunity to tee off in a Duke uniform.
With the ACC championship marking the final scheduled event on the Blue Devils’ calendar, the team’s postseason future now hedges on receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals from the selection committee May 4.
Having collected tournament wins at the Bandon Dunes Championship and the Blue Devil Spring Shootout, Duke is in the conversation for earning an at-large bid. But after finishing far down the leaderboard at the ACCs, the Blue Devils’ chances at extending their season took a considerable hit.
“I’m just proud of the guys for battling back this spring and putting themselves in contention to be considered [for a bid],” Green said. “The players, the coaches, everyone put in a lot of hard work to get better this spring. We can take some pride in the bounce-back that these guys had.”
Southey-Gordon was Duke's third-lowest finisher of the weekend, carding 10-over-par. Ricaurte rounded out the Blue Devils' scoring golfers with a three-round score of 12-over par.
Ricaurte’s appearance in the Duke lineup marked the first time that the Columbus, Ohio, native has competed in the postseason. For the senior and his coach, the opportunity to compete for a championship meant the culmination of four years of hard work.
“There were a few times on the golf course when guys found themselves in tough spots, especially [Ricaurte], Green said. “I just told him, ‘This is exactly what you wanted…to be in the championship, to have worked this hard for four years and step up and make this big of a golf shot.’”
Ricaurte ended up making one of those shots—and it was a big one.
On the brightest stage of his college career, the senior drained an eagle putt on the 18th hole to cap off the first round of play in dramatic fashion. For Green, the eagle was a bonus.
“Just having [Ricaurte] here was special, Green said. "In our sport you can’t bring everybody, but this was his first chance—it was great to have him there.”
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