Duke had the low round of the day in the second round, even though that meant 3-over 291. Duke overtook first-round leader Pepperdine and never looked back. With a closing round of 1-under 287, Duke reached 2 under for the weekend and logged a two-shot win.
As the summer wore on, several signs pointed to a strong fall on the horizon for Duke. Senior Chandler Eaton, who calls Alpharetta home, played the weekend at the U.S. Open. He was one of five upperclassmen in the Blue Devil lineup this week. Junior Evan Katz was at the forefront, though, with three rounds of par or better. That was good for a sixth-place finish at 3 under, the lowest among the Blue Devils.
The Golf Club of Georgia event marks Duke’s first team title of the fall. The Blue Devils were second at their own Rod Myers Invitational and seventh at the Nike Collegiate, their other two stroke-play starts so far this season. Duke has won at least one event in each of the past six seasons.
Duke entered the week ranked No. 7 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. Four other top-10 schools were in the field, including top-ranked Georgia Tech, which finished 10th despite being at home.
"There were a lot of good teams out here – they're all highly ranked and it's always a terrific field that comes here," said head coach Jamie Green. "That's a testament to the type of tournament Georgia Tech runs and a great golf course. I was pleased and proud of our guys. It was something that has been building for us, so it was nice for our guys to see the reward and be able to take the trophy home."
After taking the first-round lead with a 12-under 276, Pepperdine could not produce another stunningly low round and finished second at even par. Texas A&M was another shot behind that, followed by Wake Forest at 4 over.
In the individual race, UCLA’s Eddy Lai and Texas A&M’s William Paysse tied for medalist honors at 7 over.
Quotes from Duke Athletics used in this report