By shooting an even-par 288 both Tuesday and Wednesday, the No. 9 Blue Devils were able to move up off the cut line and ultimately finish seven strokes behind No. 1 Stanford.
About midway through Saturday’s second round of the ACC championship, the Blue Devils’ lead looked like it might be slipping away. After Duke came out strong to extend a one-stroke lead to 10 shots, senior Alexander Matlari, freshman Chandler Eaton and junior Jake Shuman combined to play just six holes in 12-over-par during a rough patch in the middle of the round, quickly shaving four shots off the team’s lead. But playing some of its best golf of the year, the No. 24 Blue Devils righted the ship and cruised through the rest of the second round before staying steady in the final 18 holes later Saturday en route to their first ACC championship since 2013.
All No. 9 Duke needs is a top-six finish to advance to the postseason’s final test later this month.
After a slow start to the spring season, it looked like the Blue Devils would fade out of contention and into the depths of ACC oblivion.
One of the sport's top young players, O'Sullivan won the 2015 U.S. Women's Amateur, in addition to the LPGA Symetra Tour Gateway Classic.
The Blue Devils now head into the most important part of their schedule with the ACC championship looming next weekend.
The No. 7 Blue Devils led wire to wire Thursday through Saturday at the Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C., restoring their nine shot lead with a 1-over-par final round and finishing with a three-day total of 5-under-par.
The Blue Devils struggled early in the spring to turn close finishes into victories, but the team’s recent resurgence makes it clear that Duke is ready to contend yet again heading into the postseason.
Although they have struggled with consistency this season, the Blue Devils hope they can play their strongest golf in their regular-season finale as they aim to get back to the NCAA championship after failing to qualify in 2016.
With a gutty back nine, however, the Blue Devils were able to claim fourth place at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee this weekend.
In his first three-and-a-half seasons at Duke, Alexander Matlari finished in the top-10 just twice. It only took him three tournaments to match that this spring.
Playing 36 holes Friday and the final 18 Sunday due to inclement weather, the Blue Devils started fast, opening up a 13-stroke lead then building on that lead thanks to Maguire and sophomore Virginia Elena Carta to finish 18 strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 20 Oklahoma State.
The Blue Devils will complete Friday through Sunday at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic in Baton Rouge, La., where the team will look to defend its title at the par-72 course with four-fifths of the roster that won by 16 strokes there last year.
Slow starts had plagued the Blue Devils to start their spring season, and they once again found themselves near the bottom of the standings, tied for 13th after a rocky first round.
After an ugly 9-over first round spelled their demise in their spring opener, the Blue Devils hoped that they could shake the early tournament yips their next time out.
Duke needed a stellar round Sunday to overcome a deficit to one of the best teams in the nation also playing on its own home turf, but finished with just a few strokes too many for the third time in as many events.
This weekend, the Blue Devils will find out if the third time’s the charm. Duke will head to Gainesville, Fla., Saturday and Sunday or the Suntrust Gator Invitational, where the Blue Devils will finally be at full strength after missing one of its regular starters due to health issues in each of the spring’s two events so far.
The Blue Devils held a two-stroke advantage in the final round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate with all players through 12 holes, but an untimely birdie-free back nine at Long Cove Club halted Duke’s progress while reigning-champion Alabama gained ground.
With the squad at full strength, Duke will look to build upon that finish by returning to the friendly confines of Long Cove Club.
The Blue Devils entered their spring season with an incredibly balanced lineup—four Duke regulars are averaging between 71.6 and 71.9 strokes per round. But this weekend in Los Cabos, Mexico, it was Chandler Eaton who stood out the Blue Devils, despite a challenging couple of rounds for his teammates.
