Wake Forest rallies past Duke to take team title in Rod Myers Invitational; Penn State finishes in a tie for fourth

   Wake Forest overcame host Duke with a final-round surge Sunday as the Demon Deacons captured the team title in the Rod Myers Invitational at the Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C.

   It turned into a battle between the Atlantic Coast Conference rivals with the Blue Devils taking a six-shot lead after Saturday’s double round before Wake Forest, led by a final round of 3-under-par 69 by Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Alex Fitzpatrick, a sophomore from England, finished up with a 7-under 281 to edge Duke by three shots.

   Wake Forest opened with a 5-under 283 over the 7,154-yard, par-72 Duke University layout Saturday morning before firing a 10-under 278 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. The final-round 281 gave the Demon Deacons a 22-under 842 total.

   Duke had the best team round of the tournament, a 14-under 274, in the second round after opening with 7-under 281, but the Blue Devils backed off a little in the final round with a 3-over 291 for a 19-under 845 total.

   Another ACC entry, Louisville, was 13 shots behind Duke in third place with a 6-under 858 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 288, the Cardinals fired a 10-under 278 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 4-over 292.

   Like most of the teams in the 13-team field, it was the 2019-2020 season opener for defending team champion Penn State. It was a decent showing for the Big Ten representative as the Nittany Lions shared fourth place with North Carolina Greensboro at even-par 864.

   A veteran Penn State team was never able to build off that season-opening success a year ago and was unable to secure a bid to the NCAA regionals.

   After opening with a 4-over 292, the Nittany Lions posted a pair of 2-under 286 rounds to land at even par. UNC-Greensboro, led by individual champion Jonathan Brightwell, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., sandwiched a 4-under 284 with a pair of 2-over 290s.

   Wake Forest was led by Parker Gilliam, a junior from Cary, N.C. who finished alone in fourth place at 8-under 208, three shots behind Brightwell. Gilliam sparked Wake Forest’s second-round surge with a 6-under 66 before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Eric Bae, a senior from Pinehurst, N.C., was two shots behind Gilliam in a tie for fifth at 6-under 210. Bae carded a pair of 1-under 71s after opening with a 4-under 68.

   Fitzpatrick, No. 36 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was coming right back after watching the United States rally to defeat his GB&I side in last weekend’s Walker Cup Match at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.

   After a pair of even-par 72s, Fitzpatrick’s 3-under finish helped Wake Forest pull out the team win and enabled him to join the group tied for ninth place at 3-under 213.

   Mark Power, a freshman from Ireland, gave the Demon Deacons four finishers inside the top 10 as Power also was in the group tied for ninth along with Fitzpatrick at 3-under 213. Power had three consecutive 1-under 71s in his college debut.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Marco Steyn, a junior from South Africa who finished among the group tied for 21^st at 1-over 217. Steyn closed with a 1-over 73, but his second-round 70 was a key counter for the Demon Deacons.

   Brightwell closed with a sparkling 5-under 67 to edge Duke’s Adrien Pendaries, a junior from France, by a shot. Brightwell opened with a 4-under 68 and added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s double round. His final-round 67 left him with an 11-under 205 total.

   Pendaries, who played a key role as a freshman in the Blue Devils’ run to the NCAA semifinals at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in the spring of 2018, fired a pair of 3-under 69s after opening with a 68 to finish a shot behind Brightwell at 10-under 206.

   North Carolina’s Ryan Bennett, a sophomore from Lafayette, Calif., owned the individual lead after adding a sizzling 6-under 66 to his opening-round 69. He fell back a little with an even-par 72 in Sunday’s final round to finish third at 9-under 207.

   Sharing fifth place with Wake Forest’s Bae at 6-under 210 was Liberty’s Ervin Chang, a senior from Malaysia. Chang closed with a 1-under 71.

   Charlotte’s John Gough, a senior from England, was another shot behind Bae and Chang in seventh place at 5-under 211 after finishing up with a 2-under 70.

   Louisville was led by Matthias Schmid, a junior from Germany who finished alone in eighth place at 4-undere 212, a shot behind Gough. After opening with a 4-under 68, Schmid added a pair of even-par 72s. Schmid finished in a tie for second in the NCAA Louisville regional last spring and led the way as the Cardinals earned a ticket to the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   Penn State was led by juniors Louis Olsakovsky, an Upper St. Clair product, and James McHugh of Rye, N.Y., both of whom landed in the group tied for 13^th place at 1-under 215.

   Olsakovsky opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 2-under 70 Saturday afternoon before closing with a 74. After rounds of 73 and 72 Saturday, McHugh had Penn State’s best round Sunday, a 2-under 70.

   Another junior, Lukas Clark, who starred scholastically at Council Rock South, closed with a 1-over 73 to finish in the group tied for 27^th at 3-over 219.

   Penn State’s top two returnees, Ryan Davis, a junior from Berkeley Heights, N.J., and Alec Bard, a senior from New Hartford, N.Y., struggled at Duke.

   Davis recovered from an opening-round 78 with rounds of even-par 72 and 1-under 71 to finish among the group tied for 32^nd at 221. Bard closed with an even-par 72 to finish a shot behind Davis in the group tied for 34^th at 222.

   Penn State head coach Greg Nye mostly kept his prize freshman recruits under wraps, but Jimmy Meyers, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s PIAA Class AAA championship team last fall, competed as an individual and finished among the group tied for 66^th at 236. After opening with an 82, Meyers bounced back with rounds of 79 and 75.

   Zach Barbin, the oldest of the golfing Barbin family from Elkton, Md., made the starting five for Liberty and finished in the group tied for 32^nd at 221. Barbin, a junior, added a pair of even-par 72s to his opening-round 77.