Evans Paces Duke in Under-Par First Round at ACC Championship

CHARLOTTE – After an opening round of 1-under, 283, the Duke men’s golf team stands in seventh place at the ACC Championship, held at Charlotte Country Club. The Blue Devils, led by Ethan Evans’ 2-under, 69, finished under-par as a team after the first 18 holes of play on the 7,396-yard, par-71, course.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND ONE

• As a team, Duke fired a 1-under, 283, in the opening round.
• Ethan Evans led the lineup, signing for a 2-under, 69, on Friday. The sophomore began his day in red numbers after sticking his approach shot on No. 1 to inside five feet. Two bogeys across a three-hole stretch moved Evans to 1-over, but he responded by sinking a 10-footer on the ninth hole for birdie. Evans kept the momentum going, rolling in birdies on the par-4 10th and par-5 12th to reach 2-under. A bogey on the 17th was quickly erased with a birdie on the final hole, with Evans finding the green on an uphill approach and pouring in the 15-footer.
• Luke Sample also finished under-par, carding a 1-under, 70, in the opening round. Following a bogey on No. 4, Sample got back to even-par with a birdie on the par-5 seventh. After a bogey on No. 8, the junior rolled in back-to-back birdies across the turn to get back into the red. His final bogey of the round, this time on No. 13, was quickly erased with a chip-in birdie on No. 14 and Sample finished off the round with four straight pars.
• William Love finished at even-par, 71, after 18 holes. The sophomore started quickly, going 3-under through the first five holes, making birdie on holes No. 1, 4 and 5. A bogey on the par-4 eighth was remedied with a birdie on No. 9 as Love made the turn at 3-under. Three bogeys on the back-nine slowed the early momentum, as Love finished off the even-par round.
• Daniel Choi shot a 2-over, 73, to start his event. Choi, making his first ACC Championship start, rolled in three birdies, including on both par-5’s, while scattering five bogeys across his round.
• Bryan Kim rounded out Duke’s opening-day action with a 5-over, 76.

NOTES

• As a team, Duke made 18 birdies, tied for the second-most by any team in the field.
• Ethan Evans paced the Blue Devils in par-4 scoring, going 3-under on those holes.
• Evans also led Duke with five birdies, which tied for fifth-most by any individual.
• Bryan Kim made birdie on the par-3…