After struggling with consistency for most of the season, Duke entered the week trying to build momentum after a close seventh-place finish last week—it did just that and a whole lot more.
Thanks to a 21-under-par second round, the best round in school history, the No. 17 Blue Devils captured the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C., finishing four strokes ahead of Iowa State. Freshman Chandler Eaton and sophomore Alex Smalley continued their momentum from last week to carry Duke, both finishing tied for fourth individually at 8-under-par at Grandover Resort as the team finished with a three-day, 54-hole total of 30-under-par.
The victory was the Blue Devils’ first in their last seven events, dating back to April’s triumph at the Princeton Invitational. The team fired just two rounds over par, compared to three rounds of 5-under-par or better.
“There have been so many great players at Duke, so it’s nice to break that record and do it close to home where we have a few more family members out here to watch our guys,” Duke head coach Jamie Green told GoDuke.com Sunday.
Eaton, the No. 13 recruit in his class, ultimately hopes to add his name to that list of accomplished players. After an up-and-down start his collegiate career, Eaton is surging, shooting a career-best 7-under-par 65 in Sunday’s second round alongside Smalley after finishing tied for fourth in last week’s Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
That round put him in the individual lead after the first two rounds, one that he eventually relinquished to Georgia State’s Nick Budd. An even-par final round left the Alpharetta, Ga. native four strokes back of the individual championship, but his head coach lauded the way he handled himself Sunday when he caught fire.
“Chandler has such a calm, cool demeanor and he looks unflappable out there,” Green said. “You can’t tell if he’s even par or 8-under. His play recently has built his confidence. He has plenty of talent to compete at this level, and he has handled the adjustment to college golf very well. He rolls with everything and doesn’t get bent out of shape when a curveball comes his way.”
Smalley displayed similar confidence all week, rebounding from a first-round 73 to pick up his second top-five finish of the season. It was his first under par total in his last four events, dating back to a 2-under-par showing at the Inverness Intercollegiate.
No Blue Devil finished worse than 3-under-par for the week, and each player in the lineup finished inside the top 23, an encouraging sign for a team that has struggled to score top-to-bottom all season. The field was less challenging than the loaded groups Duke has had to face in recent tournaments—no other ranked teams competed in Greensboro—but several struggling players rebounded for the Blue Devils.
Duke’s leader in scoring average this season, Jake Shuman, recovered from two consecutive tournaments shooting 5-over-par or worse to card a 3-under-par three-round total, and Adam Wood and Max Greyserman finished in the top 20.
“We knew the golf course would lend itself to some low scores,” Green said. “The greens here are very receptive. I’m very proud of the guys for executing the game plan at a very high level.”
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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.