Blue Devils in Second Place After First Round in Bahamas

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – The men’s golf team had four individuals finish inside the top-25 after the first round of the White Sands Bahamas Invitational on Friday, led by Luke Sample and Ian Siebers in a tie for seventh-place at 4-under. As a team, the Blue Devils sit in second-place, just two shots behind Arkansas State.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• As a team, Duke finished the first round with a 12-under 276.
• Ian Siebers played consistently all morning, turning in a 4-under 68 scorecard after his opening 18 holes of play. The junior went bogey-free on Friday and made back-to-back birdies on holes No. 9 and 10 to make a move into the top-10 on the individual leaderboard.
• Joining Siebers in a tie for seventh place was Luke Sample. The New York, N.Y., native made three consecutive birdies early in his round and bounced back from a double-bogey on No. 12 with an eagle on No. 13. The sophomore rolled in his fourth birdie of the day on No. 16 to finish off his 4-under 68.
• Coming off his second-place finish at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate last weekend, Kelly Chinn continued his strong play on Friday morning. The sophomore made the turn after a 1-under 35 on the front nine and surged on the back nine to finish at 3-under 69. The Great Falls, Va., native sits in a tie for 14th-place heading into Saturday’s round.
• William Love turned in the fourth under-par round of the day for the Duke team, carding a 1-under 71. The freshman recovered from a slow start with a birdie on No. 6 and made the turn at 1-over. A strong back nine, including a birdie on No. 17, helped Love to move into red figures for the day. The Atlanta, Ga., native is currently tied for 23rd-place.
• Also for Duke, Jimmy Zheng finished with a 1-over 73. Two birdies in his last four holes, including a birdie on his second-to-last hole of the day helped the junior finish in a tie for 42nd overall.
• Competing individually for Duke were freshman Ethan Evans and sophomore John Peters. Both finished in a tie for 23rd-place at 1-under 71. Evans spent his entire round in red figures after birding his first hole of the morning, and Peters’ day was highlighted by a stretch of four birdies…