If there’s one takeaway from the three-day event in Palos Verdes Estates, Ca., then it’s that sophomores Phoebe Brinker and Anne Chen led the way, tying for 18th and 26th at +5 and +7 on the individual leaderboard, respectively.
Over the three-day event at the par-71 Long Cove Club, Duke was able to improve on its score each round, moving up to 10th place by the end of the event.
But while head coach Dan Brooks and company harbor high expectations yet again, the 16th-ranked Blue Devils started their spring slate with an underwhelming tie for 10th in the 54-hole Moon Golf Invitational at windy Suntree Country Club.
Time will tell whether these Blue Devils can be contenders, but Duke is Duke, so don’t expect too much of a drop-off—if there even is one.
Yes, the Blue Devils were at the middle of the table, but the fact that Duke’s freshmen are making an impact and are complementing Siebers is promising.
An intense, action-packed spring season is now upon us, as Duke heads down to the Arizona Intercollegiate for its first tournament of the year.
After a decorated career as a Blue Devil, Gina Kim is making the leap to the LPGA. The Chapel Hill native, who was a freshman on the 2019 national title team and last year’s ACC individual medalist, decided to turn professional and forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility. Kim will attempt to Monday qualify into her first two events, which are set to take place over the next two weeks.
You can officially add "LPGA Tour member" to Gina Kim's decorated resumé.
Coming in at No. 8: Duke women's golf combines youth and experience to finish in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.
With nearly three months until its next event, Duke now has time to look at some film and chart out strategies for improvement. Which gives us a chance to look at a few statistics under the hood.
Back in May, the Cowgirls stifled the Blue Devils’ bid for an NCAA title in the match-play semifinals with a 5-0-0 sweep. While the finals of the East Lake Cup in Atlanta produced a closer result between the two programs, Duke came up just short, falling by a 3-2-0 decision.
Shepherd took home second-place honors at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational this past weekend at the Finley Golf Course, shooting a career-low 54-hole ledger of 206.
It is not often that two surefire contenders compete in the same event seven months out from the postseason, but that is exactly what happened this week on the outskirts of Chicago.
Less than four months have passed since Duke saw its repeat national title hopes run dry in the Arizona desert, but fall golf creeps up on you fast.
Zheng tied for third individually, with a gutsy final stretch propelling both himself and his team onto the podium.
So yeah, the Blue Devils will leave Arizona dissatisfied. They played brilliantly down the stretch against Arizona State in the quarterfinals, but could not mount the back-nine charge needed to snatch victory from Oklahoma State’s holsters in the semifinals. But a quick peek at 2021-22 reveals that Duke is not going anywhere.
As the Duke women’s golf season draws to a close, there are a lot of great factors to reflect on. Among them is the performance of freshman Phoebe Brinker, who was outstanding in her first year at the collegiate level.
"We didn't need to get this far for me to know how good they are," Blue Devil head coach Dan Brooks said. "We could go out and have this championship, this match play day, again, and it might go a different direction and we might win them both. Hats off to Oklahoma State though, they played some great golf, that match was really something."
Late May gives way to one thing in college golf: champions being crowned. And much like the last few seasons, the Blue Devils are right in the thick of the chase for eternal glory.
It's officially a wrap for Duke's 2021 season.
