COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a very impressive display of golf over the last three days in Columbia, S.C., the Duke women’s golf program came away with some new hardware at the Gamecock Intercollegiate, which was played at the 6,297-yard, par 72 Columbia Country Club.
Against a stacked field that included eight ranked in the top 15 of the Golfweek national ledger, the 22nd-ranked Blue Devils shot even-par, 864, over 54 holes to win the team title by three strokes. It marked the first team victory for Duke in 2021 in just two tournaments played.
Erica Shepherd, who hails from Greenwood, Ind., turned in rounds of 69, 70 and 70 for a seven-under-par, 209, to claim her first collegiate title. The sophomore led the field with 14 birdies and a four-under-par (3.86) scoring average on par-4 holes on the week.
“After being in contention last week, it feels really good to come out on top,” said Shepherd. “I had a few things from the last tournament that I wanted to sharpen up, which I did and just those few adjustments allowed me to play some pretty good golf this weekend. I saw a lot of putts drop the last three days and I hope to carry that confidence into the rest of the season. Winning a college tournament this spring was a big goal of mine, so I am really proud of that but I’m even more proud of how our team came together and got the win. All of the girls on the team learned from the last tournament and came ready to play to win this weekend and it’s just special to be a part of.”
Shepherd featured five birdies in her final round, including four over a stretch of five holes on the front nine. The ANNIKA Award candidate rolled in an 11-footer for birdie on the par-4 13th hole for her lone red number on the back. She closed the day with four pars to win the title by three strokes over Lois Kaye Go of South Carolina (212). Shepherd hit 14 fairways, 15 greens and had 31 putts in the final round.
Entering the Gamecock Intercollegiate, Shepherd had competed in seven tournaments and totaled five rounds of even or under par, while posting one top five finish. She notched three under-par rounds in Columbia and finished with a career-best seven-under, 209, to win the individual title. Shepherd now has a third place and first place finish in two tournaments in 2021.
Duke (864) won the team title by three strokes over Wake Forest (867). South Carolina (870), LSU (878), Auburn (879), Vanderbilt (880), Mississippi State (881), Ole Miss (886), Georgia (887) and Alabama (889) rounded out the top 10.
Coming off a tied for 35th finish in her first collegiate outing a little over a week ago, freshman Phoebe Brinker was solid this week posting rounds of 69, 73 and 72 for a career-best two-under-par, 214, to finish in tied for third place.
In her final round, Brinker totaled two birdies, two bogeys and 14 pars on her way to finishing with an even-par, 72. Her birdie on No. 1 came after she hit her approach to 15-feet and drained a downhill slider. Brinker also featured a birdie on the 495-yard, par-5 15th as she hit her second shot over the green and got up-and-down. She hit 15 greens and 13 fairways to finish play.
“I am ecstatic about our win this week,” said Brinker. “I’m so proud of our team for fighting hard. After our success in just my second college tournament, I am so excited to get the rest of the season rolling!”
Sophomore Megan Furtney closed the week with rounds of 74, 74 and 75 for a seven-over, 223, which placed her tied for 40th. In the final round, Furtney totaled back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and No. 7 as she hit her hybrid to 20 feet on the sixth hole and drained a six-footer on the seventh. She closed the day with a six-foot birdie on the challenging 380-yard, par-4 first hole. Furtney, who is from St. Charles, Ill., hit 13 greens, 10 fairways and had 33 putts to close out the event.
In her second college tournament, freshman Anne Chen signed for rounds of 76, 74 and 74 for a 224, which tied for 45th. Chen, who is from Sugar Land, Texas, drained a 45-footer for birdie on the par-4 sixth hole and closed her final round at one-under-par over her final four holes, including a 12-foot birdie on No. 18. She hit 14 greens, 11 fairways and rolled 31 putts.
Coming off an opening two-under-par, 70, in the first round, junior Gina Kim closed the tournament with a 76 as she placed tied for 51st with a 225. Kim, a product of Chapel Hill, N.C., had birdies on No. 13 and No. 17 on the way in Wednesday. She led the squad with 29 putts in the final round.
Brooks, in his 37th season at the helm of the Blue Devils collected his NCAA-best 138th team victory at Duke. He has led the Blue Devils to at least one team win in 36 of his 37 seasons in Durham.
Duke will next compete in the Valspar Augusta Invitational March 13-14 in Augusta, Ga. The event will be contested at the Forest Hills Golf Club.
For more information on Duke women’s golf, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for “https://goduke.com/DukeWGOLF”.
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Duke Results
Erica Shepherd 69-70-70=209 (1, -7)
Phoebe Brinker 69-73-72=214 (T3, -2)
Megan Furtney 74-74-75=223 (T40, +7)
Anne Chen 76-74-74=224 (T45, +8)
Gina Kim 70-79-76=225 (T51, +9)
1 2 3 Team Scores
1 2 1 Duke 282 291 291 864 E
T6 4 2 Wake Forest 290 290 287 867 +3
T3 1 3 South Carolina, U of 287 285 298 870 +6
2 5 4 LSU 286 295 297 878 +14
T3 3 5 Auburn 287 291 301 879 +15
8 T8 6 Vanderbilt 291 300 289 880 +16
T3 7 7 Mississippi State 287 303 291 881 +17
T9 T10 8 Ole Miss 294 299 293 886 +22
15 6 9 Georgia, U. of 301 288 298 887 +23
T12 T10 10 Alabama 299 294 296 889 +25
T9 T13 11 Baylor 294 301 295 890 +26
T12 T10 12 Arkansas 299 294 298 891 +27
T6 T8 T13 North Carolina 290 301 301 892 +28
17 T15 T13 Tennessee 303 298 291 892 +28
11 T13 15 Kentucky 298 297 301 896 +32
18 T15 16 Furman 309 292 304 905 +41
16 17 17 Florida 302 306 304 912 +48
14 18 18 Texas A&M 300 309 307 916 +52
Start Finish Player Team Scores
2 1 Erica Shepherd Duke 69 70 70 209 -7
1 2 Lois Kaye Go South Carolina, U of 69 69 74 212 -4
5 T3 Ingrid Lindblad LSU 70 71 73 214 -2
T6 T3 Phoebe Brinker Duke 69 73 72 214 -2
T3 T3 Benedetta Moresco Alabama 70 70 74 214 -2
T9 T6 Nicole Adam North Carolina 69 74 73 216 E
T23 T6 Ana Pelaez South Carolina, U of 75 71 70 216 E
T3 T6 Mychael O’Berry Auburn 71 69 76 216 E
T14 T6 Auston Kim Vanderbilt 70 74 72 216 E
T9 T10 Blair Stockett Mississippi State 69 74 74 217 +1
T9 T10 Julia Johnson Ole Miss 71 72 74 217 +1
T26 T10 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 76 71 70 217 +1
T26 T10 Celina Sattelkau Vanderbilt 70 77 70 217 +1
T19 T10 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 73 72 72 217 +1
T19 T15 Jensen Castle Kentucky 75 70 73 218 +2
T26 T15 Abbey Daniel Mississippi State 72 75 71 218 +2
T6 T15 Jenny Bae Georgia, U. of 73 69 76 218 +2
T14 T15 Gurleen Kaur Baylor 70 74 74 218 +2
T9 T15 Kaleigh Telfer Auburn 70 73 75 218 +2
T19 T20 Jennifer Zhou North Carolina 72 73 74 219 +3
T23 T20 Emilia Migliaccio Wake Forest 70 76 73 219 +3
T26 T20 Andrea Lignell Ole Miss 73 74 72 219 +3
T14 T20 Nicole Whiston Tennessee 73 71 75 219 +3
T26 T20 Paula Kirner * South Carolina, U of 70 77 72 219 +3
T36 T20 Maisie Filler Florida 75 73 71 219 +3
T19 T26 Pimnipa Panthong South Carolina, U of 72 73 75 220 +4
T14 T26 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 71 73 76 220 +4
T6 T26 Kendall Griffin LSU 69 73 78 220 +4
T46 T29 Caterina Don Georgia, U. of 79 71 71 221 +5
T26 T29 Megan Schofill Auburn 72 75 74 221 +5
T36 T29 Latanna Stone LSU 73 75 73 221 +5
T26 T29 Kajal Mistry Arkansas 74 73 74 221 +5
T14 T29 Laney Frye Kentucky 72 72 77 221 +5
T61 T34 Britta Snyder Baylor 73 79 70 222 +6
T23 T34 Cory Lopez Arkansas 74 72 76 222 +6
T9 T34 Pauline Roussin-Bouchard South Carolina, U of 71 72 79 222 +6
T36 T34 Julia Gregg Arkansas 75 73 74 222 +6
T26 T34 Clara Moyano Mississippi State 72 75 75 222 +6
T26 T34 Cecilie Finne-Ipsen * Charlotte 72 75 75 222 +6
T46 T40 Micheala Williams Tennessee 78 72 73 223 +7
T56 T40 Louise Yu Vanderbilt 78 73 72 223 +7
T36 T40 Megan Furtney Duke 74 74 75 223 +7
T41 T40 Anna Morgan Furman 73 76 74 223 +7
T26 T40 Polly Mack Alabama 76 71 76 223 +7
T46 T45 Madison Moosa Furman 79 71 74 224 +8
T61 T45 Siyun Liu Wake Forest 78 74 72 224 +8
T56 T45 Mikayla Bardwell Tennessee 74 77 73 224 +8
T36 T45 Brooke Sansom Auburn 74 74 76 224 +8
T46 T45 Anne Chen Duke 76 74 74 224 +8
T46 T45 Kaiyuree Moodley * South Carolina, U of 74 76 74 224 +8
T46 T51 Hannah Karg Baylor 76 74 75 225 +9
T41 T51 Jo Hua Hung Georgia, U. of 76 73 76 225 +9
T41 T51 Gina Kim Duke 70 79 76 225 +9
T46 T51 Caroline Curtis Alabama 77 73 75 225 +9
T46 T51 Chiara Tamburlini Ole Miss 74 76 75 225 +9
T61 T56 Kayla Smith North Carolina 74 78 74 226 +10
T46 T56 Jenny Kim Florida 75 75 76 226 +10
T56 T56 Morgan Baxendale Vanderbilt 75 76 75 226 +10
T41 T56 Rosie Belsham Baylor 75 74 77 226 +10
T66 T60 Isabella Holpfer * Georgia, U. of 78 75 74 227 +11
T66 T60 Smilla Sonderby Ole Miss 76 77 74 227 +11
T66 T60 Brooke Matthews Arkansas 76 77 74 227 +11
T61 T60 Courtney Dow Texas A&M 75 77 75 227 +11
T46 T60 Caroline Craig Georgia, U. of 75 75 77 227 +11
T41 T60 Sarah-Eve Rheaume Furman 81 68 78 227 +11
T66 T60 Ashley Gilliam Mississippi State 74 79 74 227 +11
T80 T67 Kennedy Swann Ole Miss 76 79 73 228 +12
T83 T67 Kenzie Wright Alabama 76 80 72 228 +12
T61 T67 Presley Baggett LSU 76 76 76 228 +12
T83 T67 Hannah Levi Mississippi State 75 81 72 228 +12
T56 T67 Rikke Svejgaard Kentucky 76 75 77 228 +12
T66 T67 Carla Tejedo Mulet LSU 74 79 75 228 +12
T66 T67 Candice Mahe Georgia, U. of 77 76 75 228 +12
T80 74 Maria Villanueva Kentucky 75 80 74 229 +13
T66 T75 Elina Sinz Auburn 76 77 77 230 +14
T66 T75 Brooke Tyree Texas A&M 74 79 77 230 +14
T80 T75 Ava Bergner * North Carolina 75 80 75 230 +14
T75 T78 Ava Schwienteck Texas A&M 79 75 77 231 +15
T75 T78 Marina Escobar Domingo Florida 76 78 77 231 +15
T75 T80 Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio Texas A&M 72 82 78 232 +16
T83 T80 Elodie Chapelet Baylor 77 79 76 232 +16
T56 T82 Krista Junkkari North Carolina 75 76 82 233 +17
T66 T82 Mathilde Claisse South Carolina, U of 75 78 80 233 +17
T94 T82 Kayla Holden Tennessee 80 83 70 233 +17
T75 T82 Virginie Ding Vanderbilt 76 78 79 233 +17
T75 86 Ela Anacona Arkansas 78 76 80 234 +18
T83 T87 Natalia Aseguinolaza North Carolina 78 78 80 236 +20
T89 T87 Ariel Yu * Vanderbilt 74 83 79 236 +20
T83 T89 Sophia Burnett Furman 79 77 81 237 +21
T91 T89 Ellie Szeryk Texas A&M 81 78 78 237 +21
T91 T89 Kyra Cox Furman 78 81 78 237 +21
T83 92 Vanessa Gilly Tennessee 78 78 82 238 +22
93 93 Sarah Shipley Kentucky 80 80 79 239 +23
96 94 Emilie Overas Alabama 82 84 75 241 +25
T94 T95 Elin Esborn Florida 83 80 80 243 +27
T89 T95 Clara Manzalini Florida 76 81 86 243 +27