The Blue Devils just squeezed out a win in the Tar Heel Invitational two weeks ago, making it two wins in three events so far this season.
Now, Duke will return to a familiar venue to try and keep that momentum going and end its fall on a high note.
The No. 4 Blue Devils will make the short trip to Wilmington, N.C., Friday through Sunday for the Landfall Tradition held at the Country Club of Landfall, where the team has competed during seven of the last eight years. The last time Duke played in the 54-hole, stroke-play event in 2015, the team walked away with an easy 11-stroke victory.
“It’s a Pete Dye design, and it’s one of my favorite courses,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “Of all the great courses we’ve played over the years, it’s one of my very favorite. It’s just a great test. It’s not tricked up. There’s just some really smart holes and Pete Dye’s a tremendous designer.”
The event comes two weeks removed from a nerve-racking finish at the Tar Heel Invitational, where the team narrowly avoided blowing a 10-stroke lead on the final day thanks to birdies late in the back nine by several players and senior Leona Maguire's individual victory.
The Cavan, Ireland, native’s schedule has been quite filled since the win, as Maguire traveled to Venice, Fla., Oct. 16-22 to compete in the second stage of the LPGA’s qualifying tournament, where her ninth-place finish earned her both a spot in the final qualifying round and Symmetra Tour status.
Maguire decided not to compete in the final stage, though—accepting an LPGA Tour card would void her NCAA eligibility—and will instead finish her Duke career before taking advantage of the Symmetra Tour status that, unlike LPGA status, can be deferred until 2018. Brooks commended the move and said it sets an example not only for her teammates who might have thoughts of turning pro, but for all college golfers.
“I hope everybody’s paying attention, because I think way too many people forgo college or go only a year or two of college to turn pro, and I see the vast majority of their names way down the list on the Symmetra Tour,” Brooks said. “If anybody had a legitimate reason to turn pro, it would be her.... She knows that it’s important to get some backup in your life, and there’s plenty of time."
As Maguire makes the quick turnaround to compete this weekend, she will be joined by two freshman that have stepped in and made an immediate impact for the Blue Devils. Miranda Wang, from Beijing, will return to action after a clutch performance to end the Tar Heel Invitational, where she birdied three of her final four holes to card a 70 that helped her team beat Alabama by one stroke. In addition to her even-par finish in Chapel Hill, Wang also tied for 32nd in the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Chicago.
Jaravee Boonchant has been equally impressive in her debut season, as she boasts top-15 finishes or better in each of her first three starts for the blue and white, highlighted by an eight-under-par tie for sixth place in September’s Jim West Challenge. Brooks noted that the Country Club of Landfall’s newly-planted Bermuda greens should test his players more than the course’s previous bentgrass surfaces, but said that Boonchant and her teammates have what it takes to overcome the change.
“Landfall just put Bermuda greens in, so the greens are going to be a little firmer, but everybody on our team hits the ball far enough to where they’re going to come into these greens with pretty good trajectory and not come in too low,” Brooks said. “It’s a course where you need to be smart and Jaravee’s a very smart player, so I think she’s got everything she needs for this course.”
The Blue Devils will have to face off against the team that nearly spoiled their win in Chapel Hill, as the second-ranked Crimson Tide lead a field that features 10 ranked teams out of 18 competitors. Among Duke’s other challengers on the par-72 track will be No. 8 Furman, No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Michigan State and No. 15 Florida.
Sophomore Ana Belac will also tee up on the Pete Dye design after tying for 20th in her last start with scores of 73, 69 and 71. Belac, who hails from Portoroz, Slovenia, has carded four rounds in the 60s this season—second only to Maguire—and boasts a 71.2 stroke average, the third-best on the team.
Virginia Elena Carta will complete the team’s lineup this weekend and is coming off a Tar Heel Invitational in which Brooks said she hit some of the best approach shots of her career. With Duke and Alabama neck-and-neck, the junior hit two impressive shots into the greens of 17 and 18, netting two birdies. Hopefully for the Blue Devils, Carta can keep up the solid play and help her team capture back-to-back victories to close the fall slate.
“I’m going to be reminding her of that often,” Brooks said. “When she really needed to play well, her tempo got better and she hit some just remarkably good shots. You know she doesn’t have to worry about whether she can perform when it matters a lot. She proved that she can, and she won the NCAA championship doing that same thing.”
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