Reigning two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke
made its fast start in the opening round hold up all weekend as the Blue Devils
held on for a six-shot victory Sunday to take the team title in the Ruth’s
Chris Tar Heel Invitational at the University of North Carolina Finley Golf
Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Duke shot to the top of the leaderboard on the strength of a
sizzling 17-under-par 271 over the 6,379-yard, par-72 Finley layout in Friday’s
opening round and played 3-over par golf the rest of the way, finishing up with
a solid 1-over 289 Sunday for a 14-under 850 total.
Duke’s ACC rival Virginia had a pretty nice start as well,
carding an 11-under 277 in the opening round and trailed the Blue Devils by
six. But after a 1-under 287 Sunday, which matched the low round of the day,
also accomplished by Arkansas, the Cavaliers still ended up six shots behind
Duke with an overall total of 8-under 856.
The opponents in last spring’s Southeastern Conference
match-play final, Arkansas and South Carolina, finished third and fourth with
respective totals of 5-under 859 for the Razorbacks and 2-over 866 for the
Gamecocks. Arkansas’ final round of 1-under 287 matched its second-round score
while South Carolina matched par in the final round with a 288. Arkansas won
that title match last spring and is the reigning SEC champion.
Another ACC power, Wake Forest, led by individual champion
Emilia Migliaccio, a sophomore from Cary, N.C., finished fifth at 4-over 868.
The Demon Deacons posted a final round of 4-over 292. Vanderbilt, another SEC
entry, finished alone in sixth at 13-over 877 after a final round of 6-over
294.
Host North Carolina and junior Brynn Walker, a two-time PIAA
Class AAA champion at Radnor High, moved up a little in the final round as the
Tar Heels had their best round of the weekend, a 5-over 293, to finish tied for
seventh in the loaded 18-team field with ACC rival Clemson at 22-over 886. The
Tigers carded a final round of 6-over 294.
The Dookies had three players finish among the top eight in
the individual standings, led by Ana Belac, a junior from Slovenia who carded a
final round of 2-under 70 to end up alone in third place at 6-under 210.
Virginia Elena Carta, a senior from Italy who captured the
NCAA individual title as a freshman in the spring of 2016, was part of a trio
of players who finished tied for fifth at 4-under 212. Carta, the runnerup to
South Korean teen Eun Jeong Seong in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling
Green Golf Club, carded a 2-over 74 in the final round.
Jaravee Boonchant, a sophomore from Thailand, had a solid
1-under 71 in the final round to join a group of three players tied for eighth
at 3-under 213. Boonchant had grabbed the lead after the opening round with a
sparkling 6-under 66 before falling back with a 76 in Saturday’s second round.
Miranda Wang, a redshirt sophomore from China, struggled to
a second straight 76 to land in the group tied for 29th at 221.
Freshman Gina Kim, playing in her home town of Chapel Hill, had a solid 2-over
74 in Sunday’s final round to end up in the group tied for 48th at
225. After a shaky start with an opening-round 79, Kim was a counter in each of
the last two rounds for the team champion Blue Demons.
Migliaccio, a member of a stellar freshman class in Division
I women’s college golf last season, was an impressive four-shot winner over a
really strong field in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational individual
standings.
Migliaccio had grabbed a three-shot lead after two rounds by
adding a 4-under 68 Saturday to her opening-round 67. She bettered par again in
Sunday’s final round with a 2-under 70 to finish at 11-under 205.
Arkansas’ Dylan Kim, a senior from Plano, Texas, was the
runnerup with a 7-under 209 total after a final round of 2-under 70. Following
Duke’s Belac in third was Virginia’s Anna Redding, a senior from Concord, N.C.
who finished alone in fourth at 5-under 211 after matching par in the final
round with a 72.
Joining Duke’s Carta in the group tied for fifth at 4-under
212 were South Carolina’s Lois Kaye Go, a junior from the Philippines, and
Virginia’s Beth Lillie, a sophomore from Fullerton, Calif. Go matched par in
the final round with a 72 and Lillie had one of the best rounds of the day
Sunday with a 3-under 69.
Joining Duke’s Boonchant in the trio tied for eighth at
3-under 213 were Furman’s Haylee Harford, a senior from Leavittsburg, Ohio, and
Arkansas’ Cara Gorlei, a senior from South Africa. Harford finished up with a
2-over 74 while Gorlei matched par in the final round with a 72.
North Carolina got nice showings from its top two finishers
as Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China, and Kelly Whaley, the Tar Heels’
senior leader from Farmington, Conn., earned top-20 finishes. Zhou finished
alone in 17th place at 1-over 217 after a final round of 1-over 73
while Whaley landed in the group tied for 18th at 2-over 218 after matching
par in the final round with a 72.
North Carolina’s other standout freshman, Nicole Lu of
Taiwan, finished among the group tied for 23rd at 4-over 220 after
posting her second straight 1-over 73.
It was a tough weekend for North Carolina’s two juniors,
Mariana Ocano of St. Petersburg, Fla. and Walker, the Radnor High product.
Ocano carded a 3-over 75 to finish in the group tied for 71st at 232
while Walker struggled to an 80 to end up in the group tied for 88th
at 236.
Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, competed as an
individual for the Tar Heels and ended up among the group tied for 34th
at 232 after a final round of 2-over 74.
Rashnee Sharma, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., had posted a
pair of 80s in the first two rounds, but matched par in the final round with a
72 to join her teammate Ocano among the group tied for 71st at 232.
Clementina Rodriguez, a senior from Venezuela, finished 96th
at 264 after a final round of 86.
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