The Duke men’s golf team got its spring schedule underway at The Prestige from Monday to Wednesday, a three-day tournament held out in La Quinta, California at PGA West.
The Blue Devils performed admirably in their return to action, finishing in a tie for fifth behind two standout performances and a stellar second round.
Ethan Evans and Bryan Kim both went low from the opening day at the Greg Norman Course, firing matching 5-under 66s in round one. Evans balanced a double-bogey 6 at the 18th hole with seven birdies.
Kim poured in six birdies of his own, all within a nine-hole stretch. He circled 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14 to wash away a bogey at the third hole.
None of the other three Duke golfers recorded a round lower than 74 in the first go-round, but the Blue Devils did most of their damage in round two. All five players shot a 72 or better during their second trip around the course.
Kim couldn’t vault himself farther up the leaderboard, making two birdies and two bogeys for an even-par 71, but Evans could. The sophomore fired a 3-under 68 despite yet another double-bogey, this time on the third hole. He also bogeyed 6 and 9 but birdied the first, the fourth, and the fifth before rattling off four in a row from 14-17.
Luke Sample and Kelly Chinn matched their teammates’ energy with a 4-under 67 and a 3-under 68, respectively.
Sample could have put together something scary good, with four birdies in his first 10 holes before an eagle on the 12th got him to 6-under for the day, but three bogeys over his last six prevented him from something eye-popping. Chinn, on the other hand, balanced five birdies with two bogeys in his round.
Overall, the five Blue Devils combined for 23 birdies during the second round, and the team total of 10-under 274 was second only to eventual champion Texas Tech.
Unfortunately, Duke’s third round resembled the first more than the second. Evans, who began the tie in a tie for second on the individual leaderboard, signed for a 1-over 72 after his three birdies were overruled by two bogeys and his third double of the week. He finished the tournament in a tie for seventh, six strokes behind Kansas’ Cecil Belisle.
Kim put together a 1-under 70 to finish in a tie for 11th on the week, including three birdies in four holes around the turn. Daniel Choi, the Blue Devils’ fifth golfer, also managed a 1-under 70, and Chinn mustered an even-par 71. Sample fell back two strokes with a 73 to finish in a tie for 45th on the individual leaderboard.
The Blue Devils finished first among the two ACC teams in attendance, with Louisville coming in solo 13th, but future conference foe Stanford finished in third.
Duke gets back in action at the Wake Forest Invitational on March 4-5.