Baylor’s reign at No. 1 in Golfstat’s collegiate rankings may not yet be over, but their five tournament win streak certainly is after an eleventh place finish at the Gamecock Intercollegiate.
Missing out on a trophy ceremony for the first time since March of 2020, the Lady Bears’ streak gave way to defending national champion (2019) Duke and sophomore Blue Devil, Erica Shepherd.
Shepherd’s pair of 2-under 70s coupled with an opening 69 aided Duke to a three shot win over Wake Forest while giving herself her own three shot advantage over South Carolina’s Lois Kaye Go. The win did not come easy as Columbia Country Club was rain soaked to begin the week, making it play longer than the 6,297 yards advertised on the scorecard. With bad weather impending on the area, tournament officials made the decision to play as many holes as possible on Tuesday, mashing the second and third rounds together. With final round play concluding Tuesday evening amid a sleet storm, Duke and Shepherd had to come back Wednesday to finish off their respective wins.
Duke came into the week ranked No. 23 in Golfstat’s D-1 collegiate standings. With No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 6 Wake Forest, and a handful more top-ranked teams taking a loss to the Blue Devils, Duke will definitely see a rise in their standing.
As for Shepherd, the win marks the first of her Duke career and her second tournament win since September. Up next for her and her team is the Valspar Augusta Invitational held at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia (March 13-14). Shepherd will be back in Augusta the following week to participate in the second playing of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.