Boonchant has Duke out in front in Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational

   Reigning two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke opened defense of its Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational team title Friday with a sizzling 17-under-par 271 at the University of North Carolina’s Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C. to take a six-shot lead over one of the top fields in women’s college golf.

   The Blue Devils lost one of the best players in the history of Division I women’s golf to graduation in Ireland’s Leona Maguire, but they have not skipped a beat. I have a funny feeling that the influence of Maguire just gets passed down in the way programs with winning legacies do.

   Jaravee Boonchant, a sophomore from Thailand, reached the top of the individual leaderboard with a sparkling 6-under 66 over the 6,379-yard, par-72 Finley Golf Course layout to lead the way for the Dookies.

   Duke’s ACC rival Virginia fired a pretty impressive 11-under 277 and sits in second place. Reigning Southeast Conference champion Arkansas carded a solid 3-under 285 and is eight shots behind the Cavaliers in third.

   Louisville matched par with a 288 total and Furman and another ACC power, Wake Forest, are tied for fifth at 1-over 289.

   Host North Carolina and Brynn Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, had to be a little disappointed with an opening round of 9-over 297 that left the Tar Heels in 10^th place in the stacked 18-team field.

   Backing up Boonchant for Duke were Ana Belac, a junior from Slovenia, and Virginia Elena Carta, a junior from Italy, both of whom were part of a six-player logjam in fourth place at 4-under 68. Carta was a runaway winner of the NCAA individual crown as a freshman two years ago and the runnerup in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Delaware County that same summer.

   Miranda Wang, a redshirt sophomore from China, gave the Blue Devils a fourth player inside the top 10 as she carded a 3-under 69 to join the group tied for 10^th.

   Duke’s prized freshman recruit, Gina Kim, was playing in her home town of Chapel Hill, but struggled to a 79 and is in the group tied for 85^th. Pretty sure her older experienced teammates will be able to get Kim to relax in time for Saturday’s second round.

   Furman’s Haylee Harford, a senior from Leavittsburg, Ohio, and Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio, a sophomore from Cary, N.C., are tied for second in the individual chase, a shot behind Boonchant after each posted a 5-under 67.

   Like Duke, Virginia has a pair of players in the group tied for fourth at 4-under 68, Anna Redding, a senior from Concord, N.C., and Katharine Patrick, a senior from Houston, Texas.

   Rounding out the group tied for fourth are Arkansas’ Dylan Kim, a senior from Plano, Texas, and Louisville’s Lauren Thibodeau, a freshman from Hampstead, N.H.

   North Carolina’s senior leader Kelly Whaley of Farmington, Conn. led the way for the Tar Heels as she matched par at Finley with a 72 that left her in the group tied for 19^th.

   North Carolina’s two freshmen, Jennifer Zhou of China, and Nicole Lu of Taiwan, got off to solid starts in backing up Whaley. Zhou carded a 1-over 73 to land among the group tied for 26^th and Lu was another shot behind Zhou at 2-over 74 in the group tied for 32^nd.

   It was a tough start for Walker as she and teammate Mariana Ocano, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla. each carded a 78 that left them among the group tied for 78^th.

   Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, was out of the first five, probably for the first time in her short college career. Competing as an individual, Bergner carded a solid 3-over 75 to join the group tied for 42^nd.

   Two other Tar Heels, Rashnee Sharma, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., and Clementina Rodriguez, a senior from Venezuela, also competed as individuals. Sharma carded an 80 and is in the group tied for 91^st and Rodriguez posted an 85 and is alone in 96^th place.