ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The Duke men’s golf team took home both the team and individual title at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate on Sunday, Oct. 20. The Blue Devils used a blistering 17-under, 271, in the final round en route to an overall score of 28-under, 836, claiming the team title by three shots.

Ethan Evans finished as the individual medalist, winning by one stroke, with a 9-under, 207. Two other Blue Devils logged a top-10 finish on the leaderboard, with Kelly Chinn grabbing a share of fifth place and Bryan Kim finishing in ninth place.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND THREE

• As a team, Duke fired a 17-under, 271, en route to the victory. The Blue Devils swept the tournament, as Ethan Evans claimed the first medalist honors of his collegiate career, finishing atop the leaderboard at 9-under, 207.
• Evans finished under-par for the third straight day, logging a 1-under, 71, in the final round. He started quickly with birdies on holes No. 2 and 3, before stumbling with a bogey on the 222-yard, par-3, sixth. Evans got the shot back shortly after though, with a birdie on the par-5 ninth, making the turn at 2-under. A steady back-nine, with eight pars and just a lone bogey, closed out Evans’ individual victory.
• Kelly Chinn and William Love both caught fire in the final round, as both shot a 6-under, 66.
• Chinn immediately set the tone, with four birdies across his first five holes, before dropping a shot on No. 5 with a bogey. Using his fifth birdie of the front-nine, coming on the par-5 ninth, Chinn made the turn at 4-under and made par on No. 10. From there, he played his next three holes at 4-under with an eagle on the par-5 11th and birdies on holes No. 12 and 13. Two dropped shots across the final six holes moved Chinn back to 6-under for the round, securing a tie for fifth place at 7-under, 209, overall.
• Love was bogey-free on the front-nine and poured in four birdies in the first half of his round, making the turn at 4-under. Back-to-back birdies on holes No. 11 and 12 pushed Love to 6-under, before his lone bogey of the round on No. 13. Steady play, with four consecutive pars, was rewarded with a closing birdie on the par-5 18th. Love’s strong final round pushed the junior to 1-under overall and in a tie for 20th place.
• Bryan Kim carded a 4-under, 68, on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore worked through two bogeys in his first three holes, mixing in a birdie on No. 2 and then rolled in another birdie, on No. 9, to make the turn at even-par. The putter heated up on the back-nine, with three consecutive birdies on holes No. 11-13 and a closing birdie on the par-5 18th. Kim was Duke’s third player inside the top-10 individually, tying for ninth place at 6-under, 210.
• Luke Sample finished his tournament with an even-par, 72, on Sunday. The senior’s round was highlighted by a hole-out eagle from just over 100 yards on the par-5 first hole, and Sample added birdies on holes No. 9 and 15. Overall, the senior finished at 4-over, 220, and in a tie for 42nd.

NOTES

• Duke claimed the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate team title for the second time in the last five iterations of the event, having taken home the trophy in 2019. 
• The team tournament title is the 95th overall in program history and the 33rd under head coach Jamie Green.
• Duke has claimed at least one team title in 10 of the last 11 seasons, with the lone exception coming during the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season.
• The 17-under, 271, team score in the final round tied for the fifth-best score to par for 18 holes in program history.
• With its winning score of 28-under, 836, Duke secured its sixth-best score to par for a 54-hole event in program history.
• Ethan Evans claimed the first medalist honors of his Duke career. His previous best finish had been a tie for second place, which he accomplished twice during the 2023-24 season.
• Evans is the first Duke individual to take home medalist honors since William Love won the Dorado Beach Collegiate during the 2022-23 season.
• As a team, Duke finished at 6-under and 28-under on the par-4’s and par-5’s, respectively. Both scoring efforts led all teams in the field on those holes.
• The Blue Devils also led the field for birdies and eagles, making 61 and five, respectively.
• Duke had three players – Love, Ethan Evans and Kelly Chinn – finish sixth or better for par-5 scoring, with Love playing those holes at 8-under and Evans and Chinn at 7-under.
• Chinn led the team for total birdies, with 16, which was second-most by any individual.

QUOTES

• “I had a lot to prove to myself after a rough event at Notre Dame. Shooting a low first round was a big relief and from there, I just let myself play golf and enjoy the moment. Nerves were high coming down the last hole but happy with how I executed the shots. I didn’t want to see Josh [Duangmanee] make a bogey because he played great all day, but I think it pays off to keep putting yourself in contention.” – Ethan Evans after his first win as a Blue Devil
• “I knew I was excited to get to go out first and set the tone for the day, so it was awesome to get off to a hot start and see that positive energy trickle back to the rest of the guys. We’ve been close for a while and we just knew if we stuck to our games and went through our processes, we’d get the job done.” – William Love on his 6-under round and the team victory
• “Today was a special day for the team and was something we’ve worked hard for. I got some positive energy out there and it really translated in the scoring. Super proud of this team and we’re looking forward to keeping this up.” – Kelly Chinn on final round 

UP NEXT

• Duke finishes the fall portion of its schedule at The Clerico, played at Oaks Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men’s golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “https://goduke.com/news/2024/10/20/DukeMGOLF”. 

Duke Centennial

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