Duke, Boonchant on top after 1st round at Tar Heel Invite

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Oct. 12, 2018) – Duke went 17 under in the opening round of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite to rise to the top of a deep field, and it inspired a little deja vu. This marks the second straight year the Blue Devils have shot a 271 in the opening round of the Tar Heel Invitational. It’s the second-lowest 18-hole score in tournament history.

Duke golfers were spread out from Nos. 1-3 in a shotgun start at UNC Finley Golf Course on Friday. Three of the five Duke golfers kicked off their day with a birdie on their first hole and the birdies continued. At the end of the day, Duke featured four golfers shooting 3-under par or better and all four were in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard at the end of the day. Sophomore Jaravee Boonchant led the way with a 6-under 66, which matched a career-best round.

“It was fun today,” said Duke head coach Dan Brooks. “We saw a lot of putts fall in, a lot of great shots. It is a course that will allow you to score so we need to be on our toes, because there will be some low scoring tomorrow and the next day. We feel really good about this, but we need to keep the pedal down.”

Duke leads Virginia by six shots after Virginia put up 11-under 277 on Day 1. Arkansas is next at 3 under, followed by Louisville at even par.

Boonchant tops the individual race with her 66, followed by Furman’s Haylee Harford and Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio in a tie for second at 5-under 67. Six golfers are tied for fourth at 4 under.