Shuman Finishes Tied for 16th at NCAA Championship

Monday, June 1

Bradenton, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

Day Four at NCAA Championship

Shuman Finishes Tied for 16th at NCAA Championship

6/1/2015 7:45:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

BRADENTON, FLA. – Freshman Jake Shuman capped off the season with a terrific round to charge up the leaderboard and finish tied for 16th at 2015 NCAA Championship. Shuman carded six birdies on the day en route to a one-under 71 at The Concession Golf Club on the fourth and final day of stroke play.

"Today was amazing in the fact that I had the team out there supporting me on every shot," said Shuman. "My parents and the team were heard loudly around the course whenever I hit a good shot or dropped a putt. It was great to have the support out there today."

The Needham, Mass., native collected his team-leading 11th under-par round of the year to match a Duke freshman record set by Brinson Paolini (2010-11). He also recorded his fourth top-20 finish of the season and Duke's seventh top-20 finish in NCAA Championship play.

"I couldn't be more proud of Jake," said head coach Jamie Green. "As good as he was striking the ball he still had to have great patience out there to score as well as he did. For him to be able to play so well this week really shows where his game is."

In Monday's final round, Shuman dropped two shots early in the round with a double-bogey on the par 4 second hole. He responded with a two-putt birdie on No. 3 (par 5) and got back to even-par with a birdie on No. 6 after stuffing his tee shot on the 183-yard, par 3 inside three feet.

Shuman suffered a double-bogey on No. 7 (par 5) before rolling his approach inside of a foot and converting a birdie on the par 4 eighth hole. Following four straight pars, he got back to even-par with a birdie on the par 5 13th hole.

Shuman drained a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 16 (par 4) to get into red figures just before lightning in the area forced a one hour stoppage in action. His putter remained hot during the break and Shuman dropped a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to continue his climb up the leaderboard. He caught a fairway bunker on the closing 18th hole and scrambled to make bogey to close out the day.

"I hit the ball solidly today for the most part, but the difference was my putting," said Shuman. "I saw the lines well and got a bunch of putts to drop. T.D. [Luten] was with me for every shot today and I can't say enough about his coaching abilities. He gets me and he keeps me smiling on the course no matter how I'm playing. I enjoyed the experience and this only gives the team and me more motivation to get back and make it farther in the years to come."

Shuman closed out the tournament with a one-over 289 (69-78-70-71), the fourth-best 72 hole round by a Blue Devil in NCAA Championship play.

NOTES
*** Shuman was one of five players at the NCAA Championship to shoot under-par in three of the four rounds of stroke play.

*** Shuman finished the tournament with 18 birdies, tied for third-most in the field ... he also ranked among the tournament leaders in par 3 scoring (E) and par 5 scoring (-5).

*** Third round play was concluded Monday morning with the top 15 teams and top nine individuals not on those teams advancing to the final round. Duke concluded the 2015 NCAA Championship tied for 24th overall.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES
"Obviously, we are disappointed as a team to not have made it to today and then to match play, but I'm really proud of this team for making it this far. We have come a long way from the team we were at the beginning of this semester."
-- Jake Shuman

"I can't believe my freshman year at Duke is over. I learned a whole lot on and off the course and can't wait to get back to Durham in August to get back to work with the guys."
-- Jake Shuman

"He really exemplified patience but on top of that you have to be able to execute. This championship tested everything from tee to green and certainly everything on the putting green. Around the greens you really had to think your way around because one little foot here or there could put a ball in a place where it would be really hard to get it up and down."
-- Jamie Green