Duke has won the ACC Women's Championship for the 20th time
(Duke Athletics Photo)
PAWLEY'S ISLAND (April 15, 2017) - For the 20th time in program history Duke has won the the ACC Women's Championship. The Blue Devils led by nine at the start of the final day at The Reserve Golf Club of Pawleys Island and by finishing 5-under they ended up ahead by the same margin.
“We had some good golf going on,” commented head coach Dan Brooks. “Virginia [Elena Carta] and Ana [Belac] were a little rough on the front nine, and that was when we ended up in that tight position. But both of them righted their ship coming in, and that made all the difference in the world. Florida State is a really good team. They were right there.”
Florida State placed second at 4-over, Miami was third at 10-over, North Carolina ended up fourth at 12-over while Clemson completed the top-five with a 13-over showing.
Duke was led throughout the tournament by medalist winner Leona Maguire. Starting the day tied for the lead, Maguire was able to pull ahead with a 2-under closing day to post 6-under and win the conference title for the second-time in three years. The top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings birdied No. 1 as she set the stage early for her four birdie, two bogey day.
Her additional birdies came on Nos. 9, 11 and 15.
“We’ve got a really strong conference this year, and I knew that to win [the individual medal] was going to take some really strong golf,” said Maguire. “The course here was in fabulous condition and the greens were great. You knew that when you hit a good shot that you were going to be rewarded.”
The reminder of the Duke lineup contributed throughout the week and they all placed in the top-20; Sandy Choi (T4; -1), Ana Belac (T14; +2), Virginia Elena Carta (T17; ) and Gurbani Singh (T17; +3).
The top-five of the medalist standings was completed by Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest at 4-under, Delfina Acosta of Miami was third at 3-under while four others shared fourth at 1-under.
-Duke Athletics contributed to this story
ABOUT THE ACC Women's Championship
Match Play Championship with 54-holes of stroke-play
qualifying to determine the low eight teams
View Complete Tournament Information