The Duke women’s golf team picked up one of the most satisfying Blue Devils victories possible on Sunday: a win on the North Carolina Tar Heels‘ home turf.
Duke won the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heels Invitational in Chapel Hill on Sunday, combining for an even-par final round to come all the way back from seven strokes behind.
Despite Blue Devils’ junior Andie Smith leading the individual portion by two stokes through two rounds, Duke sat in fifth place at +16 entering the final round.
The Michigan State Spartans sat +9, leading the Tennessee Volunteers by three, but both teams faded away over the final 18 holes. No golfers on either team broke par in the final round, with Michigan State shooting a combined 10-over while the Volunteers could only put together a 13-over round.
While the leaders opened the door, Duke walked right through. Smith, who teed off on the fifth, birdied three of her final four holes to clinch a five-stroke individual victory at 7-under.
While Smith picked up an individual trophy, freshman Carla De Troia and sophomore Katie Li gave the Blue Devils an insurmountable advantage. De Troia finished with a 1-under 69 after making one birdie and 17 pars, and Li recovered after two bogeys in her first four holes for an even-par 70.
It all added up to an even-par 280 in the final round, the best performance of the tournament, to win by three strokes at +16.
The hosting Tar Heels, who began the final round one stroke behind the Blue Devils, finished fourth after a 4-over 284 to finish +21.