Evans Earns Bid to NCAA Championship; Duke Finishes in Seventh

BATON ROUGE, La. – Duke men’s golf sophomore Ethan Evans earned a bid to the NCAA Championship on Wednesday as the low individual on a non-advancing team, finishing in a tie for second place at 6-under, 210, at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.

As a team, the Blue Devils saw their season come to a close following a 3-over, 291, in the third round and a seventh-place finish overall at 9-over, 873, at the University Club.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE

• Duke started its round on the 10th tee and shot a 3-over, 291, for the third consecutive round.
• Ethan Evans shot even-par, 72, in the third round and finished in a tie for second overall at 6-under, 210. The sophomore played the back-nine at 1-over following a lone bogey on No. 14 and finished his round strong with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to move back to even-par. His closing birdie was highlighted by an approach shot from 180 yards that rolled to within two feet for an easy tap-in.
• Luke Sample paced the Blue Devils on Wednesday, firing a 2-under, 70, and finished in a tie for 20th overall at 2-over, 218. Sample got into red figures on his third hole of the day, the par-4 12th, but dropped a shot with a bogey on No. 15 to make the turn at even-par. The junior then went on to roll with four birdies on the front-nine, including three in a four-hole stretch to start the front-nine. Two bogeys, on holes No. 5 and 9, closed out the 2-under effort on Wednesday.
• Daniel Choi, who re-entered the lineup in place of Bryan Kim on Wednesday, signed for a 2-over, 74, in the third round. Choi started with a birdie on No. 10, but eventually made the turn at 2-over after a bogey on three separate holes on the back-nine. The sophomore played the front-nine at even-par, connecting for birdie on holes No. 4 and 6, while dropping shots on No. 2 and 8.
• Ian Siebers carded a 3-over, 75, in the third round. The senior bogeyed two holes on the back-nine, but immediately erased both blemishes with a birdie on the ensuing holes. Siebers’ third birdie of the round came on the par-5 third, but two bogeys and a double-bogey led to an overall 3-over round.
• William Love rounded out Duke’s efforts in the final round with a 5-over, 77. Love had four birdies to help offset five bogeys, but also tallied a double-bogey on both the back and front-nine en route to his 5-over…