While Hurricane Florence set record rainfall totals in the Carolinas over the weekend, the Duke golf team was raining birdies, setting records of its own.
Led by a historic individual performance from senior Alex Smalley—who went wire-to-wire for an individual victory—the Blue Devils set 18, 36 and 54-hole team records en route to a dominant victory in the Louisville Cardinal Challenge hosted at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
“They just went out with a very determined attitude. They were motivated by the last day of the Rod Myers Invitational and really surging ahead and making a charge,” head coach Jaime Green said. “Sometimes that can feel reckless but they were not taking needless chances but just embracing the attitude and mindset.”
Smalley had six straight birdies on the back nine of his opening round, leading to a 10-under-61—the second-lowest score in Blue Devil history and one shy of the NCAA’s single-round record of 60 set by Duke’s Michael Schachner in 2007. While Smalley was tearing up the course, Harrison Taee had a five-hole birdie run of his own and Adrien Pendaries went on a three-hole birdie-run—both on the front nine—leading to a pair of 64s. And if that was not enough, Chandler Eaton had bogeyless 68 to bring the team score to 27-under-257 after 18 holes.
“For Alex and Harrison, they just got on great runs. You can see it on the scorecard with Harrison making five in a row and Alex making six on the back nine,” Green said. “You do not set out to make that many in a row but when you are feeling it, you are feeling it.”
The 257 shattered the previous 18-hole scoring record of 267 set in 2017, and rounds of 277 and 281 to finish the weekend led to an overall score of 815, besting the 826 mark set in 2016. The 37-under performance left No. 18 Duke 17 strokes ahead of host Louisville, which bested No. 24 Wake Forest by seven.
While Smalley’s scintillating Friday performance may have stolen the show, he followed up the day with rounds of 66 and 70 to leave his final score at 16-under, four strokes better than the next closest competitor Tanapat Pichaikool of Mississippi State. The 36-hole score of 15-under outdid Smalley’s previous program-record of 12-under, while the final three-round score outdid Ryan Blaum’s 14-under performance in 2006.
“Alex has shot some really low scores. He has got a knack that not all players possess. He has an ability to feel comfortable to go even lower,” Green said. “Some guys try to protect their score and not lose an under-par round but he is not bashful about going deeper and deeper into the red.”
Pendaries and Eaton were the next best performers for Duke, finishing tied for eighth. The former, who looked to build on a birdie-eagle-par finish from Friday, looked poised for another low day before a double-bogey on the par-5 13th left the sophomore with a 70. Another double bogey on Sunday left Pendaries at 5-under.
“They were all playing pretty solidly. Adrien got wind of the other guys playing really well and just wanted to catch them,” Green said. “Obviously they go out with the intent of playing the best they can but sometimes there is a little extra motivation and something to spur you on and I think that probably helped Adrien even more.”
Eaton followed up his 68 by shooting 5-under thru 10 in his second round before three bogeys left him settling for a 69. Sunday saw markedly tougher conditions, but the junior battled back from early bogeys with birdies on 14 and 16 for an even-par-71, cementing his tie with Pendaries.
“It would have been unrealistic to go out there an expect the same type of score but we also did not want to go out there and have a different attitude. That expectation of scoring is a tough one to ignore—it can be challenging to your mentality, patience and confidence,” Green said. “On the second and third day, to be able to keep the blinders on and stay focused on their own task at hand was key. It was a matter of them taking care of their business.”
With most of the team going deep in the red Friday, Evan Katz’s play was likely overlooked—with a pair of birdies and bogeys leading to an even-par finish. His second-round 72 left him once again a little behind his three teammates who shot under par. However, the sophomore’s game finally came together in the final round, with six birdies leading to a 66—the lowest round of the day in the field—and an overall 4-under score, good for a spot in the top 10.
“Evan struck the ball really well. In talking to him, he did not need to make changes, he just did not make the putts like the other guys did,” Green said. “He made a minor setup change with his putting and once a couple of putts went in on the front-nine, it built his confidence. He just realized keep banging on the door and eventually I will be able to knock it down.”
After shooting 7-under in the opening round, Taee was unable to capitalize on that first round magic, with rounds of 75 and 82, that combined for three double bogeys and one triple bogey. Despite the struggles leaving him in 65th at 8-over, the early play proved that the junior has the game to go well under-par—important in the team format that allows the high score of the day to be removed. Outside of the team performance, Qiwen Wong competed as an individual and boasted the most consistent play on the team. Three straight rounds of 71 left the sophomore tied for 24th.
With such a dominating performance, the Blue Devils naturally outplayed the field on most of the holes of 7101-yard track. They were the only squad that did not shoot over-par on the par-3s and had a 3.96 scoring average on the par-4s. Duke was only bested on the par-5s, where No. 22 North Carolina—which finished 6th and 40 strokes behind the Blue Devils—averaged 4.62 to Duke’s 4.67.
The Blue Devils will look to build on the impressive play when they head to the Nike Collegiate Invitational—which often boasts the top teams in the country and will be played at historic Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I am sure Coach K has had plenty of games with the team winning but walking out thinking ‘Wow, we have a lot of things that we can work on and get better’,” Green said. “Although they did some really impressive things with record setting performances, I think each guy can still find a few skills they can sharpen in their game. Colonial is a revered golf course and a staple on the PGA Tour. It is just focusing on the golf course and getting ourselves ready.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.