After his first three college tournaments, Chandler Eaton had shot 75 or worse five times.
But following a late fall surge, his goal is to become a freshman All-American—which might not be a stretch.
The No. 13 player in his recruiting class, Eaton got off to an up-and-down start to his Duke career, tying for 32nd in his first tournament, the Rod Myers Invitational. Although he earned a top-five finish in September at the Inverness Intercollegiate, Eaton was left searching for answers after shooting 17-over-par at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational just a few weeks later.
However, two more top-five finishes to close the fall have Eaton believing he can build on that momentum. One of those finishes came when the rookie tied for fourth at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate at his home course in Alpharetta, Ga.
“I went to that tournament when I younger, I always thought those guys were really good and I never thought I’d actually be there,” Eaton said. “So then I played in it, and I realized that it’s nothing crazy…. It gave me a lot of confidence, in that I learned that I don’t have to play my best to have the potential to win.”
The Blue Devils hope Eaton can continue the consistent play he exhibited in his final two tournaments, never posting a round worse than even par. In his hometown, Eaton leaned on his smooth putting stroke to finish 6-under-par and pace Duke.
Despite his rocky start, Eaton ranked second on the Blue Devil team in putts per round last fall, illustrating his comfort on and around the greens.
“His demeanor and approach on golf and life, it is so, ‘Take it as it comes, he’s a mellow guy,’” Duke head coach Jamie Green said. “He’s very intense and cares about winning, there’s no doubt about it, but he’s almost got like a surfer’s attitude. Because he doesn’t really get amped up and have a roller coaster of emotions, it’s easier for a ball not to go in for a few holes and then him still be in a good frame of mind and be ready for a run of putts to go in.”
Even as a freshman, Eaton has helped lead a Duke team that excels around the green and ranks in the top 18 nationally in sand save percentage and putts per round. The team has seemed to follow Eaton’s late surge, capturing the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate for its first victory to close an inconsistent fall season and climb to No. 19 in the national polls to start the spring. The Blue Devils’ average finish last fall was roughly fifth—they cracked the top three twice but also finished fifth, seventh and 11th in their other events.
And Eaton, one of four Duke golfers with a scoring average between 71.6 and 71.9 this year, thinks he can already take on a leadership role for the Blue Devils when Duke opens the spring slate Sunday in Mexico.
“It’s hard to be a vocal leader as a freshman, and I’m not the most vocal person by any means. I lead by example,” Eaton said. “My thing is after my round, I don’t want to talk about my round and I don’t want to complain about anything. I just want to go about my business and try to get better at my game. I don’t want to get too locked in on results or anything. I think that rubs off on people.”
Eaton continued to hone his craft in the winter, looking to add more distance to his irons and 290-yard drive in addition to precision off the tee—he was in the bottom third of the country’s players in fairways hit, finding the short grass on just 58.3 percent of his drives.
Part of that work has included strength and conditioning, and Eaton and his teammates are hoping that steady improvement in the fall could have the Blue Devils back in the NCAA championship at year’s end after missing it a year ago.
And as Eaton gets more experience, he too has his sights set on a prize that appears within reach.
“My biggest goal is to not have external goals—like finishing in the top 10 of a tournament—but making sure I’m prepared every tournament is the biggest thing for me,” Eaton said.
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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.