LAKE ELMO, Minn. – A day after sophomore Katie Li fired a 6-under, 66, to open action at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, Duke women’s golf junior Andie Smith carded a tournament-best 7-under, 65, to help the Blue Devils move up the leaderboard at the 6,395-yard, par-72 Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo.
A native of Hobe Sound, Fla., Smith collected eight birdies and tied a career-low round by shooting 65. She is just the seventh Blue Devil to record multiple rounds of 65 or better over the storied history of the Duke program (Leona Maguire 4, Liz Janangelo 3, Phoebe Brinker 3, Amanda Blumenherst 2, Virada Nirapathpongporn 2, Anne Chen 2).
As a team, Duke fired the second-lowest round of the day with a 2-under, 286, to move up the leaderboard to third overall with a 1-over, 577. Li enters the final round with a 3-under, 141, in sixth place, while Smith is tied for 13th with an even-par, 144.
How It Happened
- For the second consecutive day, Duke opened action on hole No. 10.
- Andie Smith went off second for the Blue Devils and had Duke’s best start of the morning as she stuck her approach shot to five feet on No. 11 from 144 yards with her 7-iron for birdie. She then drained a 10-footer for birdie on No. 13 to get to 2-under through four holes. Smith hit a half swing 60-degree wedge from 49 yards on No. 15 and sank the 5-footer for birdie to get to 3-under. After an up-and-down par on No. 16, she closed the first nine holes with a 2-putt birdie on No. 18. Smith got up-and-down for par on No. 1 and then sank an 8-foot birdie on No. 2 to move to 5-under. She then rolled in a 15-foot birdie on No. 3 and was 6-under through 12 holes. After hitting the green and rolling off on No. 6, Smith finished with her lone bogey of the day. She closed strong though by sinking another 15-foot birdie on No. 8 and 2-putting for birdie on No. 9 to close with a 65.
- After going bogey-free in round one, sophomore Katie Li struggled with her driver a little on Tuesday as she finished with a 3-over, 75. She had a solid start parring the first three holes and then hitting her 54-degree wedge from 93 yards to three feet for birdie. She headed to the par-5 No. 17 at 1-under-par, but hit her drive left and ended up with her first bogey of the tournament. Li, who is from Basking…
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