Maguire, Duke Claim ACC Championships

Saturday, April 15

Pawley?s Island, S.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day Three at ACC Championship

Maguire, Duke Claim ACC Championships

4/15/2017 9:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

ACC Championship - Dan Brooks Interview WGOLF ACC Championship Highlights ACC Championship - Leona Maguire Interview Live Scoring

By: Duke Sports Information

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. – For the 20th time in school history, the Duke women's golf program has won an ACC Championship as the Blue Devils turned in a five-under-par 54-hole ledger of 859 to win by nine strokes at the 6,192-yard, par 72 The Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C. Duke junior Leona Maguire claimed individual medalist honors for the second time over the last three years as she carded a six-under-par, 210, to win by two strokes.

As a team, Duke registered rounds of 284, 286 and 289 over three days for an 859 ledger, which was nine strokes better than Florida State (868). Miami (874), North Carolina (876) and Clemson (877) rounded out the top five teams.

“We knew that Florida State was going to push us until the end,” Maguire said. “When I came through the turn, I saw that we were just one stroke ahead, and then even. I knew it was going to take some solid rallies down the stretch, and give credit where credit is due, to all our girls. We fought until the very end and managed to pull away.”

The Blue Devils won the ACC Championship for the 19th time under head coach Dan Brooks and the 20th time overall. It also marked the 16th time Duke has swept both the team and individual titles. The championship is the first for the Blue Devils since the 2014 campaign and the second for lone senior Sandy Choi.

Duke featured a nine-stroke advantage heading into the final round, but the Blue Devils struggled during holes four through nine on the front nine to drop back into a tie for first at one-over-par with Florida State. The Blue Devils responded in a big way with collecting 11 back nine birdies on their way to closing out the victory.

All five Blue Devils finished in the top 17 of the individual listing – Choi (T4), Ana Belac (T14), Virginia Elena Carta (T17) and Gurbani Singh (T17).

“We had some good golf going on,” commented Brooks. “Virginia and Ana were a little rough on the front nine, and that was when we ended up in that tight position. But both of them righted their ship coming in, and that made all the difference in the world. Florida State is a really good team. They were right there.”

Maguire, a product of Cavan, Ireland, entered the final round tied for the individual lead, but shot a two-under-par, 70, Saturday to win by two strokes over Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho (212). The win for Maguire was her third victory of the season and seventh of her career, which ranks tied for third-most in school history. She joins only Amanda Blumenherst (3), Brittany Lang (2) and Jenny Chuasiriporn (2) as multiple ACC individual medalists from the Blue Devils.

“We've got a really strong conference this year, and I knew that to win (the individual medal) was going to take some really strong golf,” commented Maguire. “The course here was in fabulous condition and the greens were great. You knew that when you hit a good shot that you were going to be rewarded.”

Over the three days, Maguire carded rounds of 68, 72 and 70 for a six-under-par, 210.

On the first hole, Maguire connected on a one and a half foot birdie to get her day started in the red digits. After adding a bogey on the second, she made six straight pars before rolling in a 10-footer for birdie on nine. She made the turn with a one-under, 35.

Maguire, who is from Cavan, Ireland, would hit a wedge to within five feet for birdie on the 339-yard, par four 11th to move to two-under. After a bogey on 14, Maguire hit her six-iron to four feet and rolled in her fourth birdie of the day to return to two-under. She would finish with three straight pars to close with a 70. Maguire hit a team-best 15 greens, 12 fairways and had 30 putts.

Over the 54 holes, Maguire led the field with 15 birdies and posted a six-under-par ledger on par fives to lead the tournament. She now owns 17 rounds of even or under par on the season.

Choi, a product of Seoul, South Korea, closed strong with a one-under-par, 71, Saturday on her way to placing tied fourth overall with a three-day ledger of one-under, 215. It marked her second top four finish in the ACC Championship as she also placed tied fourth as a rookie in 2014 when the Blue Devils won the ACC title.

“Sandy has played her best golf at Duke when we need it the most,” Brooks said. “She's done that all of her four years.”

She kicked off her day by rolling in a 35-foot birdie on the second hole. After adding a bogey on No. 5, Choi was able to get up-and-down for par on the 174-yard, par three seventh hole. She made the turn at even par and then had a bogey on No. 10. Choi closed strong playing the final eight holes at two-under-par. She rolled in an eight-foot birdie on 13 and then sank an eight-footer for birdie on 18 to finish one-under-par. Choi hit all 14 fairways, 14 greens and had 31 putts.

Coming off a two-under, 70, in round two, Belac struggled on the front nine with a five-over-par, 41, but turned it around on the back with a three-under, 33. A native of Portoroz, Slovenia, Belac notched four back-nine birdies starting on hole 11 as she rolled in a three and a half footer. She added a four-foot birdie on the 138-yard, par three 12th for back-to-back birdies.

Belac got up-and-down for par on 14, then suffered a three-putt bogey on 15, but responded by sinking a four-foot birdie on 16 to get to three over. She headed to the 510-yard, par five 18th looking to redeem herself from the past two days when she played the hole at three-over-par. Belac stuck her approach to within 12 feet and drained the birdie to finish with a 74. For the day, she hit 12 greens, nine fairways and had 33 putts.

Carta, who hails from Udine, Italy, opened her day with six bogeys, one birdie and two pars over the first nine holes. She regrouped at the turn and went on to play the final nine holes at two-under-par and finished with a three-over, 75. Carta rolled in a 20-footer on 12, five-footer on 16 and an 11-footer on 18 to close strong. Her tied 17th for placement marked the second straight top 20 finish in the ACC Championship. Carta hit 12 greens, 11 fairways and collected 35 putts in the final round.

Featuring the best start of the day for the Blue Devils was Singh, who birdied each of the first two holes. She sank a 20-foot birdie on the 504-yard, par five first hole and then connected on five-foot birdie on her second hole. Singh, who is from New Delhi, India, would go on a stretch where she struggled with four bogeys over a span of seven holes. She was able to settle down and totaled an even-par score over her final seven holes. Singh hit 14 greens, 10 fairways and notched 33 putts.

Duke will next await the NCAA Regional selection show, which will take place Thursday, April 27. The regionals will take place May 8-10.

#GoDuke

Duke Results
T1 1 Leona Maguire Duke 68 72 70      210 -6
T7 T4 Sandy Choi Duke 71 73 71      215 -1
T7 T14 Ana Belac Duke 74 70 74      218 +2
T7 T17 Virginia Elena Carta Duke 72 72 75      219 +3
T16 T17 Gurbani Singh Duke 73 72 74      219 +3

1 2 3 Team Scores
1 1 1 Duke 284 286 289      859 -5
T3 T2 2 Florida State 287 292 289      868 +4
2 T5 3 Miami 285 301 288      874 +10
T3 T2 4 North Carolina 287 292 297      876 +12
T3 T2 5 Clemson 287 292 298      877 +13
6 T5 6 North Carolina State 297 289 302      888 +24
T7 8 7 Louisville 298 298 294      890 +26
T10 T9 8 Virginia 304 293 299      896 +32
T7 T9 T9 Boston College 298 299 304      901 +37
T7 7 T9 Notre Dame 298 297 306      901 +37
T10 11 11 Virginia Tech 304 308 304      916 +52
12 12 12 Wake Forest 312 308 311      931 +67

Start Finish Player Team Scores
T1 1 Leona Maguire Duke 68 72 70      210 -6
3 2 Jennifer Kupcho Wake Forest 70 71 71      212 -4
T16 3 Delfina Acosta Miami 70 75 68      213 -3
T7 T4 Lydia Gumm Florida State 70 74 71      215 -1
T7 T4 Sandy Choi Duke 71 73 71      215 -1
T7 T4 Leslie Cloots North Carolina 70 74 71      215 -1
T7 T4 Olivia Cason Louisville 73 71 71      215 -1
T4 T8 Sierra Sims Wake Forest 69 73 74      216 E
T7 T8 Ana Paula Valdes Clemson 72 72 72      216 E
T7 T8 Bryana Nguyen North Carolina 68 76 72      216 E
T7 T11 Matilda Castren Florida State 73 71 73      217 +1
T20 T11 Sarah Bae North Carolina State 74 72 71      217 +1
T4 T11 Alice Hewson Clemson 70 72 75      217 +1
T20 T14 Dewi Weber Miami 70 76 72      218 +2
T7 T14 Ana Belac Duke 74 70 74      218 +2
T16 T14 Lauren Hartlage Louisville 70 75 73      218 +2
T1 T17 Kim Metraux Florida State 69 71 79      219 +3
T16 T17 Gurbani Singh Duke 73 72 74      219 +3
T7 T17 Virginia Elena Carta Duke 72 72 75      219 +3
T20 T17 Emma Albrecht Notre Dame 74 72 73      219 +3
T26 T21 Renate Grimstad Miami 69 78 73      220 +4
T29 T21 Elizabeth Bose Virginia Tech 73 75 72      220 +4
T20 T21 Lauren Diaz-Yi Virginia 74 72 74      220 +4
T20 T21 Lois Kaye Go Boston College 72 74 74      220 +4
6 T25 Laura Kowohl North Carolina State 73 70 78      221 +5
T16 T25 Sydney Legacy Clemson 71 74 76      221 +5
T26 27 Brynn Walker North Carolina 76 71 75      222 +6
T33 T28 Morgan Gonzales Virginia 75 75 74      224 +8
T29 T28 Jocelyn Chia Boston College 73 75 76      224 +8
T37 30 Amanda Doherty Florida State 75 76 74      225 +9
T37 T31 Macarena Aguilera Miami 78 73 75      226 +10
T26 T31 Lexi Harkins North Carolina 76 71 79      226 +10
52 T33 Morgane Metraux Florida State 75 81 71      227 +11
39 T33 India Clyburn North Carolina State 74 78 75      227 +11
T43 T33 Anna Redding Virginia 78 76 73      227 +11
32 T33 Leonie Bettel North Carolina State 76 73 78      227 +11
T33 T33 Ailin Li Boston College 76 74 77      227 +11
T20 T33 Jordan Ferreira Notre Dame 73 73 81      227 +11
T40 T39 Filippa Moork Miami 76 77 75      228 +12
T33 T39 Julia Ford Virginia 77 73 78      228 +12
T29 T39 Marisa Messana Clemson 74 74 80      228 +12
T40 T39 Molly Skapik Louisville 78 75 75      228 +12
T33 T43 Naomi Ko North Carolina State 76 74 79      229 +13
T43 T43 Kennedy Swann Clemson 80 74 75      229 +13
T43 T43 Jacqueline Twitty Louisville 77 77 75      229 +13
T47 T43 Isabella DiLisio Notre Dame 78 77 74      229 +13
T47 47 Katie Barrand Boston College 79 76 77      232 +16
T40 48 Kelly Whaley North Carolina 73 80 80      233 +17
T53 49 Maddie Rose Hamilton Notre Dame 82 75 78      235 +19
58 T50 Allison Woodward Virginia Tech 77 89 70      236 +20
T47 T50 Amanda Hollandsworth Virginia Tech 81 74 81      236 +20
T43 T50 Whitney Stevenson Virginia Tech 74 80 82      236 +20
T47 53 Allison Snakard Notre Dame 73 82 82      237 +21
T53 T54 Maho Hayakawa Virginia 84 73 81      238 +22
T47 T54 Katie Kim Boston College 77 78 83      238 +22
56 T56 Erica Herr Wake Forest 82 78 79      239 +23
57 T56 Shannon Gramley Louisville 79 82 78      239 +23
55 58 Anne Taylor Hough Virginia Tech 80 79 81      240 +24
59 59 Anna Wears Wake Forest 92 86 87      265 +49
60 60 Monica Schumacher Wake Forest 91 95 88      274 +58