Freshmen Highlight Record-Setting Day at Dorado Beach Collegiate

DORADO, Puerto Rico – Freshmen Ethan Evans and Daniel Choi helped the Duke men’s golf team record its lowest 18-hole score of the season while classmate William Love, competing as an individual, carded the best score to par by a freshman in program history on Monday. The Blue Devils are in second place, trailing Cincinnati by four shots, heading into Tuesday’s final round at the Dorado Beach Collegiate.

All five players in the lineup finished at 4-under or better, with Evans leading the charge with a 6-under 66. Love moved up 24 spots on the individual leaderboard after his record-setting 9-under 63, which was also the low round on the course on Monday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Duke shot a 20-under 268 as a team on Monday, the lowest team score so far this season and the lowest since a 21-under 267 at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate, during the 2016-17 season.
• Ethan Evans carded the team’s lowest round of the day, a 6-under 66, marking his lowest round so far as a Blue Devil. After a bogey on the first hole, Evans reeled off four birdies in the final five holes of the front-nine, making the turn at 3-under. His low scoring continued with birdies on holes 10 and 12 followed by his second eagle of the tournament on 14. The Mercer Island, Wash., native enters the final round in a tie for fifth-place.
• Daniel Choi was 4-under after eight holes on Monday. After starting the day with a birdie on the second hole, the freshman birdied the par-5 sixth and eagled the par-5 ninth. The Westlake, Texas native only dropped one shot – a bogey on the par-4 18th hole – en route to a 5-under 67, a career-best. Choi also moved more than 20 spots up the leaderboard and is now in a tie for 17th heading into Tuesday.
• The second 5-under 67 of the day came courtesy of Kelly Chinn. The sophomore also got into red numbers quickly with a birdie on his second hole of the day, the par-3 fourth. Chinn went on to birdie six of his next nine holes and finished his day in a tie for 25th at 4-under for the tournament.
• Ian Siebers entered the day in second place and quickly jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a 5-under 31 front-nine. Siebers reached as low as…