Sample Leads Duke in Fifth-Place Finish

SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Duke men’s golf moved up the leaderboard in the final round of the Sahalee Players Championship, securing a fifth-place finish. The Blue Devils ended the season-opening event at 11-over, 875, and had three individuals finish inside the top-25 on the overall leaderboard.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE

• As a team, Duke fired a 3-over, 291, in the third round.
• Luke Sample was the low Blue Devil of the day with a 1-under, 71, and finished in a tie for 13th overall at 1-over, 217. The senior started on No. 10 and played his first nine holes bogey-free, while also adding two birdies, to make the turn at 2-under. Back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7 pushed Sample to 4-under on the day, before three dropped shots across the final two holes finished up his 1-under round.
• Bryan Kim carded an even-par, 72, in the third round and tied for 19th overall at 2-over, 218. The sophomore got into red figures on his second hole of the day, the par-5 11th, but back-to-back bogeys led to a 1-over opening nine. A birdie immediately after making the turn leveled Kim back out before a balance of three birdies and three bogeys across the final six holes to finish out the round.
• The third player to finish inside the top-25 overall was Ethan Evans, who fired a 1-over, 73, in the third round en route to a tie for 23rd at 3-over, 219, overall. Evans rolled in seven straight pars to start his day before erasing a bogey on No. 17 with a birdie on No. 18, moving to the front-nine at even-par. Three consecutive holes with a bogey edged the junior to 3-over on the round, but Evans responded with back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7 to help offset the dropped shots.
• Kelly Chinn worked through a 5-over opening nine holes with three birdies in a six-hole stretch after making the turn en route to a 3-over, 75, in the third round. Chinn, a senior, finished in 54th place overall at 10-over, 226.
• Daniel Choi signed for a 6-over, 78, and tied for 52nd overall at 9-over, 225. Competing individually, John Peters closed out his event with a 4-over, 76, and tied for 55th at 11-over, 227.

NOTES

• As a team, Duke shot 19-under on par-5’s for the event, the third-best effort by any team in the field on those holes.
• The Blue Devils rolled in 44 birdies – second-most by any team, trailing only team champion…