The early-morning sun glimmered above the Duke University Golf Club as the Rod Myers Golf Invitational kicked off the 2024-25 home season for the Blue Devils. Eleven teams made their way into Durham for the three-round tournament. After finishing fifth in the Sahalee Players Championship, the Blue Devils looked build off their momentum on their home turf.
Despite Duke's strong effort, N.C. State rode along and took the tournament with an impressive final score of 22-under par. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils finished in second place as a team, and ended up with two players inside the top 10 individually: junior Ethan Evans and sophomore Bryan Kim.
“It took a high level of performance of golf ball control, and that’s what N.C. State had, probably more than we had,” head coach Jamie Green said. “Again, you gotta have depth and having a third and a fourth guy chip in, that is where we really needed it this week.”
Duke entered Round 2 in third place, but the decisive breakpoint came when William Love scored the second eagle of the day at hole No. 11, displaying his impressive ability with his driver. Then, Evans racked up four birdies in the last nine holes, bringing Duke to a first-place tie with N.C. State, as both teams recorded a cumulative score of 566. The stage was set for an exciting third round.
The Blue Devils led first as Kim had a tremendous opening nine holes, accumulating a whopping five birdies. With Florida Gulf Coast falling behind, the battle for the first spot ensued between the in-state rivals. However, the Wolfpack’s play simply became too much for the Blue Devils, as redshirt senior Nick Mathews logged 4-under par and junior Joey Lenane finished the round 5-under.
“Knowing your own golf course and being familiar with a lot of whole locations should be an advantage, but at the end of the day, you still have to hit the golf shots where you need to,” Green said .
As play began in the 18-hole course, Liberty took command of the first spot during the first four holes, hitting three eagles cumulatively and two birdies. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, had a slow start, accumulating six bogeys on the first hole alone. It only took Duke six holes to take the second spot behind a leading Liberty team that was at 6-under par. Notably, Evans racked up five birdies in his first nine holes without a single bogey. Senior Kelly Chin’s eagle on hole No. 9 — one of two eagles for all Blue Devils in this tournament — was also key as the home team looked to impose a lead as early as possible.
As the clock hit 1:30 p.m. and a slight afternoon breeze began, it was Florida Gulf Coast who emerged in the second half of the first round. Evans continued with the great play, eventually finishing the first round with the best score amongst all players for a 7-under-par 65. Junior William Love also began to catch fire, scoring three birdies in the last nine holes of the first round. The Blue Devils closed in on the lead, but still finished in third place after the first round, right behind Liberty and Florida Gulf Coast.
Persistent winds replaced the pervasive morning heat as Round 2 kicked off, and Duke began to chip on the Florida Gulf Coast lead. Both junior Daniel Choi and Kim were key for Duke’s comeback early in the second round, as each scored three birdies in the first nine holes.
As the Blue Devils await the Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 6, Green trusts that he has the talent to keep on improving as the season progresses.
“We’ve got a deep team, they are all capable of shooting under par at any moment and any round, so at times, it's really more about us having our bad game be a little bit better,” Green said.
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