Freshman Chandler Eaton has had an up-and-down rookie fall, but a return trip home was all he needed to earn the second top-five finish of his career.
Eaton tied for fourth individually at his home course in Alpharetta, Ga., as the No. 23 Blue Devils finished seventh in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, four strokes behind the event's eventual champions—No. 8 Virginia and Texas.
Although Duke’s leader in scoring average, Jake Shuman, struggled en route to a 5-over-par three day total Friday through Sunday, the Blue Devils held their own to finish 4-under-par in a field that included four of the nation’s top eight teams and has been dubbed college golf’s version of the Masters.
“I’ve played this course about a thousand times, so I was able to play without fear,” Eaton told GoDuke.com. “I was able to pick my targets and go at them. The first day was big for me, shooting four-under on the back nine, and that helped me gain a lot of momentum for the rest of the tournament.”
Eaton’s first round of 4-under-par 68 put the Blue Devils squarely in contention—they sat in second place after Friday—and set the tone for the rest of the tournament. He finished with a three-day total of 6-under-par.
It was a bounce-back event for the freshman, who had dropped all the way to the fifth slot in the lineup after finishing tied for 60th at the Nike Golf Intercollegiate at 17-over-par. Before that, he had forced his way into the lineup by collecting a top-five finish in the Inverness Intercollegiate in September. The No. 13 junior golfer in his class got back on track this week, carding an even-par 72 Sunday to help the team to its best round of the weekend, a 6-under-par 282.
“My game feels good. I know there’s a lot of things I need to work on, but I feel like I’m in a good place mentally,” Eaton said. “I’m figuring out college golf, the level of competition and how to stay focused on myself. I’m staying patient, and that’s a big thing for me.”
Shuman recovered from a rough 5-over-par 77 Saturday—his second round at 5-over-par or worse in as many tournaments—to shoot a 2-under-par 70 on the final day of the tournament. However, it wasn’t enough to help the Blue Devils overcome a second round 293 in which three players in the lineup shot 76 or worse.
“Today was mild and a little warmer,” Duke head coach Jamie Green told GoDuke.com Sunday. “The ball was flying and you had a lot of good players on the course, so you saw a lot of good play. We would’ve loved to be a few shots lower but I’m really proud of our guys.”
Sophomore Alex Smalley picked up his second top-20 finish of the season, finishing tied for 19th individually with an even-par 216 by sinking the fifth-most birdies at the event. After combining to shoot 7-over-par in his first two rounds, Alexander Matlari shot a 3-under-par 69 Sunday to finish tied for 39th, and senior Max Greyserman finished just ahead in a tie for 33rd.
Although the Blue Devils finished out of the top five for the second time in four events this year, their close finish in such a stacked field should help them carry momentum into their next event, the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate, next Sunday and Monday in Greensboro, N.C.
“Every time we’re in a tournament like this with good players and good teams, it’s a good measuring stick,” Green said. “This field was probably as strong as the NCAA championship's will be, so from that standpoint, we feel pretty good about our ability to compete with the best in the country.”
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.