Duke men's golf places fifth at Tar Heel Intercollegiate, Evans finishes top 5 individually

While the eyes of the golf world laid on Augusta National, the Duke men’s golf team made the short trip to Finley Golf Club this past weekend eyeing a stellar finish to their regular season. The Blue Devils were a part of a 14-team field hosted by North Carolina at their home course. Duke finished in solo fifth with a team score of 15-over par. Junior Ethan Evans was the Blue Devils’ top individual finisher, riding a 5-under second round to fifth place overall. 

Winning the tournament was one of the nation’s top collegiate players in Tar Heel David Ford. The senior posted a 7-under tournament score, four shots clear of Elon’s Jack Wieler. 

In the shotgun start on a cloudy and chilly Saturday morning, the Blue Devils carded a 10-over 290 in the first round that placed them in the middle of the pack going into the second round. Leading Duke on Saturday morning was sophomore Bryan Kim, who shot even par after he double-bogeyed No. 18 which erased two birdies early in the back nine. 

The hold location on No. 18 was played fairly tight, guarded by a sand bunker on the approach and placed on an upslope on a skinny green. Getting on to the green in two was difficult for the entire field. In round one, only senior Kelly Chinn posted a score better than bogey from the Duke cohort on that hole. 

Chinn was also the only golfer from Duke’s representation to par every single hole on the back nine. He recorded a 2-over 72 to start the morning. Evans’ putter was warming up, as his stretch of three consecutive birdies were erased by an adventurous 5-over par front nine. He would finish round one at 3-over-par 73. Rounding up Duke’s score for round one was senior Luke Sample, whose struggles continued when he posted a 6-over 76, dropping many shots throughout the back nine. 

Things improved greatly for Duke going into the afternoon as the Blue Devils shot 2-over 282. Though the moderate breeze and chilly conditions remained, Chinn improved by one stroke to lead Duke’s scoring to card in a 1-over 71 finish for round two. Kim started his second round with a par at the tough first hole par 3 that played at 210 yards with a tightly guarded pin position on the left front side of the green. A rollercoaster of bogeys and birdies combined his score to a 4-over 74 finish in the afternoon.

Entering Sunday, the Blue Devils were tied for sixth, and conditions became more favorable with no breeze and lots of sunshine. Evans finished his best for last, posting a 5-under 65 effort in the second round, propelling him 23 spots in the leaderboard to finish fifth place with a 1-under 209. Evans carded a single bogey on the day at the 499-yard par 4 after he started his front nine at 4-under. 

Many Blue Devils also saved their best for last including Sample who has struggled as of late. Sample drove the green on the short par-4 fourth hole to register an eagle. Sample was on pace to finish with Evans as the only Blue Devils under par on the day until he quadruple bogeyed his final hole to finish 2-over 72.