This weekend, the Blue Devils begin their quest for the program's seventh NCAA championship featuring a team with the two most recent national players of the year—a first in NCAA women’s golf history.
No. 4 Duke is headed to Orlando, Fla., to kick off its season with the second annual Annika Intercollegiate. The 54-hole stroke-play event will be played on Reunion’s Watson Course Saturday through Tuesday. Head coach Dan Brooks' roster remains intact, with all five starters returning from last season’s squad, which bowed out in the semifinals of match play at the NCAA championship in May.
“We have a solid team. We’re very dedicated and there’s a lot of excitement,” Brooks said. “In golf, it’s always the same. [Our game plan is] to play one shot at a time, not playing the opponents but playing the golf course.”
This tournament is particularly special for sophomore Leona Maguire, who will be recognized as the 2014-15 ANNIKA Award winner during a gala reception before the event. The ANNIKA Award is awarded to the top player in women’s college golf. Maguire—the top-ranked women’s amateur player—posted a school-record 70.8 stroke average and collected a string of major awards last season. During the summer, she earned medalist honors at the British Open and nearly won a professional tournament on the Ladies’ European Tour.
Maguire placed second in last year’s Annika Intercollegiate, finishing just one stroke shy of South Carolina’s Justine Dreher.
“All experiences are good and whenever you’re playing with the very best in the world, there’s nothing that can beat that. So [her experiences] will undoubtedly have a positive effect,” Brooks said.
At the team’s helm is the 2013-14 WGCA National Player of the Year, senior Celine Boutier, who is coming back from a busy summer schedule of her own, highlighted by a victory at the Ladies’ British Open Amateur and stints at the U.S. Women’s Open and the British Open. The Montrouge, France, native finished tied for third at last year’s Annika Intercollegiate.
“They’re all confident players. The work [they] put in is most important going into the tournament, not so much what happened in the past. This team has done a good job of preparing so they’re confident from that more than anything,” Brooks said.
Also starting are junior Sandy Choi, who won her first collegiate tournament last season with an 11-under par score at the Cougar Classic and sophomore Gurbani Singh. Freshman Virginia Elena Carta will make her collegiate debut at the Annika Invitational after a solid amateur campaign featuring seven career victories.
“Virginia is a very good player. She’s had a lot of success in tournaments and has had many team experiences. She’s done a great job,” Brooks said.
The tournament will feature 12 of the top teams in the country, including No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 Louisiana State, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 Stanford, Central Florida and the defending national champion, No. 6 South Carolina.
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