Heading into the final day of play four strokes ahead of second-place Southern California, the Blue Devils had to like their chances of wrapping up the top seed going into match play.
Midway through play on Memorial Day, though, Duke found itself struggling just to stay at the top half of the leaderboard.
But following a stoppage in play due to lightning, the Blue Devils responded.
Duke overcame a rough start and hit big shots down the stretch to salvage a second-place finish in stroke play at the 2015 NCAA Championship at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. Although the Blue Devils shot 15-over-par on the day, eight birdies on the final six holes helped Duke rally to earn the No. 2 seed.
“I think this is probably the toughest golf course we've played all season,” Duke freshman Leona Maguire told GoDuke.com. “It definitely helps the more you get used to it, the more you know, the bounces of the balls, the spots to be, the spots not to be.”
Coming into the day, the spotlight was squarely on Maguire, who entered the final round two shots behind individual leader Emma Talley of Alabama. The Cavan, Ireland, native continued her stellar play and took the lead after an early birdie on the second hole followed by an eagle on the par-five third.
But back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes hurt Maguire and, despite finishing with birdies on No. 14 and No. 18, the top-ranked golfer in the country ended up one shot behind Talley for the individual crown, finishing at two-under-par for the tournament.
After the end of her round, the freshman was awarded the Annika Award—given to the season's most outstanding women’s college golfer.
“To win golf tournaments is one thing, but to win an award that's voted on by your peers and the coaches and the media, that's another level,” Maguire said. “I think when I saw [UCLA freshman Alison Lee] getting presented with the award back in September, I probably didn't think I was going to be sitting here. But yeah, it's an incredible honor to have my name on a trophy that Annika [Sorenstam] has put her name to, and it's a nice way to cap off a really nice season.”
Despite Maguire’s brilliance throughout the weekend, Duke received a big boost down the stretch from the clutch play of its other golfers.
After struggling at eight-over-par through the first 11 holes Monday, freshman Gurbani Singh gained steam as she began to hit greens and birdied four of her last six holes. Singh finished tied for 14th with a score of nine-over-par through the tournament's four rounds of stroke play.
“I spent a lot of time with Gurbani today on the back side and we got some good things going,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks told GoDuke.com.
The Blue Devils' rally was also fueled by a late birdie from junior Celine Boutier on the 17th hole. The Montrouge, France, native gave herself numerous birdie chances with strong approach shots during the final round but struggled to convert with her putter. Boutier’s final-round 77 put her in a tie for 29th overall at14-over-par.
Duke sophomore Sandy Choi and freshman Lisa Maguire struggled through stroke play on the 6,468-yard course and will look to make adjustments before the next round of competition. Choi finished 58th overall and Maguire finished 83rd.
The Blue Devils will now turn their attention to match play and will open against seventh-seeded Texas Tech at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Under the new match play format, a player earns one point for their team for each hole won.
Boutier and both Lisa and Leona Maguire have plenty of experience with match play from European competitions, which could give Duke a small edge. But with collegiate competition almost exclusively sticking to stroke play before this season, the new format figures to serve as quite a test for the Blue Devils.
“We've become experts at utilizing every bit of time we have for sleep, hydration [and] food, so we're going to continue to do that,” Brooks said. “Match play, this is the way golf was originally developed back in the day. There can't be anything wrong about it. It's what golf is. We're excited about it.”
If the Blue Devils defeat the Red Raiders Tuesday morning, they will return to the course in the afternoon for the semifinal match against either Baylor or Tennessee.
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