Love Finishes Seventh, Sample Goes Low in Valspar Collegiate Final Round

PALM CITY, Fla. – The Blue Devils’ men’s golf team wrapped up play at the Valspar Collegiate on Tuesday with a third-round 9-under, 275, at the Floridian Golf Club. Duke finished the event in a tie for ninth place with a 54-hole score of 5-under, 847. Freshman William Love claimed his third top-10 finish of the season, ending his tournament in seventh place at 8-under, 205, while Luke Sample carded a 66, the lowest 18-hole total score of his career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• As a team, Duke shot a 9-under, 275, in Tuesday’s final round.
• Luke Sample paced Duke’s lineup on the final day with a 5-under, 66. The sophomore started on No. 10 and made the turn at 2-under. Sample capped off bogey-free round on the front-nine and highlighted his day with an eagle putt on the par-4 sixth hole followed by a birdie on the par-5 seventh to reach 5-under. Sample finished the event in a tie for 26th place at 2-under, 211.
• Starting his morning on No. 9, William Love poured in three birdies over the first four holes to quickly get into red numbers for the third straight round. Another birdie on No. 17 helped offset back-to-back bogeys and had the freshman at 2-under halfway through his round. Love picked up a birdie on No. 1 and then scattered three bogeys over his next five holes before closing out his final round with three consecutive birdies. Love went under-par in all three of his rounds and ended up in solo-seventh place at 8-under, 205.
• Jimmy Zheng weathered an up-and-down final round on Tuesday and carded a 1-over, 72. After starting the round on No. 10 and making the turn onto the front-nine at 1-over, the junior went birdie-eagle on holes No. 6 and 7 to close out his final round strong. Zheng finished his week in a tie for 42nd place at 2-over, 215.
• Duke’s third under-par round on Tuesday came courtesy of Kelly Chinn, who signed for a 2-under, 69. Chinn birdied four of his first seven holes and steadied himself after three bogeys with a birdie on the par-5 seventh and went on to finish the round with four straight pars. Chinn placed in a tie for 68th with a 54-hole score of 8-over, 221.
• Also for Duke, Ian Siebers rounded out his week with a 2-over, 73, on Tuesday and finished in 72nd overall at 10-over, 223.

NOTES

• Duke has finished ninth or better in eight of its nine events so far this season
• As a…