Following a scintillating second round that saw Duke catapult five spots with the low score of the day, the Blue Devils needed another strong performance Sunday to defend their ACC title.
But all five players could not find that same magic during the final round, leading to a fifth-place finish at the ACC championship. Duke finished with a team score of 844, good for 20-under-par, nine strokes behind champion and No. 5 Georgia Tech at Old North State Club in New London, N.C.
“A couple of them got off to really nice starts—we just did not quite get it from all five guys to get it going,” head coach Jamie Green said of his team's performance Sunday. “When the field is that tight—at one point, we were in second place, and an hour later, we are in ninth—it turns around your ship. There is a lot of movement when there are some strong teams. We just never got that round going today.”
With a 2-under-par 286 performances Friday leaving them in ninth, the Blue Devils posted a 12-under-par 276 Saturday, edging out the Yellow Jackets by a stroke for the lowest round of the day and rocketing up to a tie for fourth with Virginia. All players shot par or better, with Alex Smalley and Adrien Pendaries leading the pack for the day at 5-under-par and 4-under-par, respectively.
“Adrien put it best. The night before, after we talked to the team and then the next day, warming up for the round, he just felt a complete sense of confidence in his teammates and that he had absolutely no doubt that it was going to be a good day,” Green said. “There was just a sense of calm and a sense of belief."
But as Sunday rolled through, the top three line of Smalley, Chandler Eaton and Evan Katz struggled in the opening nine, combining to go 7-over-par. Nonetheless, a strong back-nine performance that saw just two bogeys among the entire team paired with eight birdies allowed Duke to finish in fifth. On the final day, the Blue Devils jumped Notre Dame, which dropped four spots to sixth, but they fell behind Wake Forest, which shot 14-under-par on the day.
Smalley continued his strong play, finishing as the lowest individual on the squad in a tie for 12th. With rounds of 70, 67 and 71, the junior finished at 8-under-par, eight strokes behind individual winner Thomas Walsh of Virginia.
“Alex Smalley shows up and competes even when he does not have his best stuff. He definitely had it going for a while yesterday and put up a pretty good score the first day. But today was a battle out there,” Green said. “He admitted to really struggling from tee to green on the front nine, but he is ever the competitor. He is not afraid to make some mid-round adjustments, and I think that is what happened today. He dialed into something that he needed regarding tempo and his takeaway and he found something on the back nine.”
Pendaries notched a top-20 finish in his first ACC tournament, carding rounds of 74, 68 and 68— impressive for a freshman on a big stage. After a shaky opening nine Friday that saw the French native shoot 4-over-par, he played the remaining 45 holes at 10-under-par.
“Once he gets into a comfortable place, he can play with anybody out there,” Green said. “It is going to be that much more exciting for us to see him with more experience each tournament going forward next season.”
Although Pendaries played some of the team's best golf for most of the tournament, his classmate Evan Katz struggled. The Washington native sandwiched a solid 71 on Saturday with rounds of 75 to finish tied for 46th at 4-over-par.
“For Evan, he did not quite have it this week in terms of firing on all cylinders. There were definitely times where he got in stretches and hit it close,” Green said. “He made a few shots for sure, but if you look at his strokes-gained putting, there might be a few shots out there that he would have liked back.”
Eaton, who shot a 4-under-par 68 Friday to lead the team, could not find the same rhythm the rest of the weekend, carding consecutive rounds of even-par 72 to close the tournament in a tie for 21st. Jake Shuman, who started off the tournament with an eagle on the first hole, could not hold onto the momentum for the rest of the day, carding a 76. Subsequent rounds of 70 and 71 left the senior tied for 33rd at 1-over-par.
Now, the Blue Devils will await their fate at the hands of the NCAA Selection Committee. There are six regionals in which they can be placed. Three of the regionals feature 13 teams, while the remaining three sport a field of 14. Duke will be looking to see where it will be slotted as an at-large bid for a chance to compete on the biggest stage of college golf.
“The message I basically have for them is, although you have a lot of academic responsibilities in the next couple of weeks, let us make sure the subtle details like equipment or grips are taken care of,” Green said. “We want to do things like that soon so there is not a quick need or any sense of urgency close to selection for regionals.
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