GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Duke women’s golf team continued their solid play as the Blue Devils opened the ACC Championship on Thursday with back-to-back rounds of 5-under-par, 283, and sits in second place with a season-best 10-under, 566, at the 6,092-yard, par-72 Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Duke features three Blue Devils in the top-10 of the individual leaderboard with Phoebe Brinker (-4, T3), Andie Smith (-3, T5) and Megan Furtney (-2, T9) shooting a combined 9-under-par.
Wake Forest holds the team lead with a 15-under, 561, while Duke (566), Clemson (568), Virginia (575), Florida State (586) and Virginia Tech round out the top six. Following Friday’s third round, the top-4 teams will advance to match play, which will start on Saturday morning.
How It Happened – Round One
• The Blue Devils got off to a solid start on Thursday morning led by freshman Andie Smith’s three straight birdies. She drained a 25-footer on hole No. 1, stuck it to two feet on No. 2 and then hit her approach on No. 3 to six inches for birdie. Smith made the turn at 1-under, 34, and then played her final nine holes at bogey-free, 3-under-par. She sank a 20-foot birdie on No. 10 and then drained a 5-foot birdie on No. 14 and 10-footer for birdie on No. 16. Smith finished with a career-best, 4-under-par, 68, and was tied for second overall through 18 holes.
• Coming off winning the ACC Individual Championship a year ago, junior Phoebe Brinker turned in a 1-under, 71, in round one. She was 1-over through seven holes to start her day, before hitting her 54-degree wedge from 86 yards and the ball taking one hop and going in the hole for eagle. Brinker made the turn at even-par, 35, and caught fire on the back birding three out of the first six holes to move to 2-under, before finishing with a 71.
• Erica Shepherd got into red numbers on both the front and back nine, before finishing with an even-par, 72. Classmate Megan Furtney had a tough start, before closing strong with three birdies over her final five holes to also finish at even-par. Of her three birdies to finish, all were putts within eight feet.
• Junior Anne Chen 2-putted for birdie on No. 15 and sank a 5-footer for birdie on No. 17 to close strong in round one. She finished with a 3-over, 75….
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