Maguire, Duke hold off Alabama to take team title in Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational

   Reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke held a 10-shot lead over Alabama, No. 2 in the latest Golfweek rankings, going into Sunday’s final round of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at the University of North Carolina’s Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.

   And the Blue Devils knew full well the Crimson Tide were going to make a run at the title. And if not them, then maybe South Carolina or Arkansas, the No. 1 team in the country coming off resounding team victories in the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship and the Annika Invitational, presented by 3M.

   It was Alabama, though, that came after the Blue Devils with a birdie barrage that added up to a spectacular 18-under 270. Somehow, though, Duke held off the onslaught, throwing up some pretty good numbers of its own in a final round of 9-under 279 that gave the Blue Devils a 31-under 833 total, one shot better than the 30-under 834 the Crimson Tide put together.

   South Carolina finished third with its second consecutive 7-under 281 and an 18-under 846 total, top-ranked Arkansas posted a final round of 4-under 284 to take fourth at 13-under 851 and host North Carolina,  with former Radnor standout Brynn Walker finishing tied for 23^rd overall, was a solid fifth in the 18-team field with a final round of 4-under 284 and an 8-under 856 total.

   A lot can happen between now and next May’s NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. that might prevent a matchup of Duke and Alabama, but you can’t take away this Sunday at Chapel Hill when the two heavyweights of college women’s golf were throwing haymakers all over the 6,379-yard, par-72 Tom Fazio design at Finley.

   Give a little of the credit for the team win to the individual champion, Duke’s Leona Maguire, a senior from Ireland who is No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Maguire added a final round of 3-under 69 to rounds of 69 and 66 for a 12-under 204 total that gave her a one-shot victory over South Carolina’s Ainhoa Olarra, a senior from Spain.

   Duke also got a big boost from Virginia Elena Carta, a junior from Italy who is starting to find the form that helped her win the 2016 NCAA individual crown and finish as the runnerup in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club. Carta had a 3-under 69 in the final round and finished alone in ninth place at 8-under 208.

   But the critical figure in Duke’s victory might very well have been Miranda Wang, a redshirt freshman from China. With Alabama actually pulling ahead late in the day, Wang birdied three of her last four holes for a 2-under 70 that left her tied for 30^th, but was Duke’s third counter.

   Jaravee Boonchant, a freshman from Thailand, and Ana Belac, a sophomore from Slovenia, both finished ahead of Wang in the individual standings and each carded a 1-under 71 in the final round, Duke’s fourth best score regardless of to whom you want to give the credit.

   Boonchant’s 71 enabled her to finish tied for 13^th at 5-under 211 while Belac’s 1-under round left her in a group tied for 20^th at 3-under 213. Wang ended up at even-par 216.

   Alabama was led by its dynamic duo of Lauren Stephenson, a junior from Lexington, S.C., and sophomore Kristen Gillman, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion from Austin, Texas.

   Stephenson, who made a run to the quarterfinals in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club, fired a 6-under 66 to finish tied for third at 10-under 206 while Gillman ripped off a 5-under 67 to finish in a trio tied for sixth at 9-under 207.

   Cheyenne Knight, a junior from Aledo, Texas who has been rock solid throughout her career with the Crimson Tide, matched Gilman’s 67 and finished tied for 16^th at 4-under 212. Alabama’s fourth counter came from Angelica Moresco, a freshman from Italy whose final round of 2-under 70 enabled her to finish tied for 26^th at 1-under 215.

   Lakareber Abe, Alabama’s veteran senior from Angleton, Texas, matched par in the final round with a 72 and finished tied for 20^th at 3-under 213.

   It was the second-lowest finish in relation to par in Duke’s storied history. The final round was the second-lowest in relation to par in program history for Alabama. The two teams have it all, talent all over the place with the perfect mix of experience and fearless youngsters. I fully expect to see both teams among the final eight in match play at Karsten Creek, but who knows, golf happens.

   Olarra fired a 4-under 68 in the final round to come up just short of catching Maguire for the individual crown, finishing at 11-under 205.

   Joining Alabama’s Stephenson in the trio tied for third at 10-under 206 were two of the ACC’s freshman phenoms, the host school’s Ava Bergner of Germany and Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, N.C. Bergner, who has emerged as North Carolina’s top player, fired a sizzling 6-under 66 in Sunday’s final round while Migliaccio posted a 5-under 67.

   Joining Alabama’s Gillman in the trio tied for sixth at 9-under 207 were Migliaccio’s teammate, Jennifer Kupcho, a junior from Westminster, Colo. who had a 3-under 69 in the final round, and Virginia’s Anna Redding, a junior from Concord, N.C. who also had a 3-under 69 in Sunday’s final round. Kupcho, who shared second with Maguire in last spring’s NCAA Championship, is No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.

   It was a very encouraging weekend for the host Tar Heels, who finished one frustrating shot away from being one of the final eight teams competing in match play in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms.

   Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, finished up with a 1-over 73 for a 2-under 214. Sometimes you forget she’s only a sophomore, but I still think Walker is capable of throwing up more rounds in the 60s. Still, it was a solid weekend for Walker in the midst of something that resembled an LPGA developmental camp.

   Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington, Conn., had the Tar Heels’ second-best round Sunday with a 1-under 71 as she finished tied for 32^nd at 1-over 217. Bryana Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md., finished tied for 55^th at 223 after a final-round 76 and Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla., had North Carolina’s final counter in the final round, a 2-over 74, and finished tied for 67^th at 226.

   North Carolina coach Jan Mann sent out a couple of her players to compete as individuals and they struggled in the final round. Roshnee Sharma, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., had a final-round 82 to finish tied for 77^th at 229 and Cheni Xu, a junior from China, had a 79 and ended up tied for 88^th at 236.