Duke Surges in Valspar Collegiate Final Round

PALM CITY, Fla. – An 11-under final round helped the Blue Devils’ men’s golf team to a sixth-place finish at the Valspar Collegiate on Tuesday afternoon. Duke turned in the second-best round on the course in the final round and was the day’s biggest mover, shooting up six spots on the leaderboard. Ethan Evans fired a 6-under, 65, setting a new career-low 18-hole score and was joined in a tie for 15th overall at 1-under, 212, by his teammate Luke Sample, who carded a 3-under, 68, in the final round.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE

• As a team, Duke shot an 11-under, 273, in the final round.
• The double-digit under-par round trailed only Vanderbilt’s 12-under for best round of the day.
• Ethan Evans carded a 6-under, 65, on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 15th at 1-under, 212, overall. The sophomore started with a bogey on the par-3 16th but then caught fire, pouring in seven birdies over a nine-hole stretch. The streak started with three consecutive on holes No. 18, 1 and 2, before two pars on holes No. 2 and 3. The sophomore then rolled in four more in a row, reaching 6-under for the first time in the round. A bogey on the par-4 ninth was quickly erased with a birdie on No. 10 and Evans once again bounced back from a bogey, this time on No. 14, with a birdie on his final hole of the round – the par-5 15th.
• Luke Sample started his day in red numbers after a birdie on his first hole, No. 13, and an eagle on No. 15. A dropped shot on No. 16 was followed with five straight pars to finish his first nine holes at 2-under. Five birdies in his final nine holes of play helped offset two bogeys as the junior finished off his 3-under round. Sample ended the event at 1-under, 212, and tied for 15th overall.
• Daniel Choi signed for a 2-under, 69, on Tuesday. The sophomore played the first half of his round at 2-under, with three birdies across a five-hole span. A bogey on No. 9 was erased with a birdie on No. 10 and Choi reached as low as 3-under with a birdie on the par-5 13th, but went on to bogey No. 14 before parring the final two holes to end at 2-under.  
• William Love used five birdies to help work through three bogeys and one double-bogey en route to an even-par, 71, in his final round and finished tied for 32nd at 3-over, 216, overall. Love began bogey-birdie on his first two holes and played steady…