CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Duke University women's golf junior
Erica Shepherd carded a 10-under-par, 206, over the last three days at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational to finish second individually and only one stroke off the lead at the 6,393-yard, par-72 Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Shepherd, who hails from Greenwood, Ind., posted rounds of 66, 70 and 70 on her way to finishing with a career-low 54-hole ledger of 206. The 206 was tied for the sixth lowest for a Blue Devil golfer on a par-72 course. Â
"Erica has worked hard on her putting and ball striking," said Duke head coach
Dan Brooks. "She's better in the wind because she's not curving her shots as much, and I'm seeing more putts fall. It's fun to see her reap the benefits of plenty of smart practice."
Trailing by three heading into the final round, Shepherd got off to a hot start by draining 27-foot birdie on her opening hole, the 392-yard, par-4 fourth, and then went to 2-under with a 20-foot birdie on No. 7. Shepherd drained a 12-foot birdie on No. 10 to move to 3-under, but missed the fairway on No. 11 and suffered her lone bogey of the day. She notched seven pars to finish her day with a 2-under-par 70. Â
Wake Forest's Rachel Kuehn collected a birdie on No. 17 to win the individual crown by one stroke with an 11-under, 205. Â
As a team, Duke turned in a tied for fifth finish with rounds of 286, 287 and 290 for a 1-under, 863. Wake Forest (847) won the team title with Clemson (857), Virginia Tech (859), Alabama (862) and Kentucky (863) rounding out the top five. Â
Sophomore
Anne Chen carded her fourth career top-20 finish as she signed for rounds of 70, 73 and 71 over the last three days on her way to finishing with a 2-under, 214, which was tied for 16th. She opened Sunday morning with a bogey on No. 5, but then sank a 14-foot birdie on No. 7 to get back to even par. After an eight on No. 10, Chen regrouped and played her final 12 holes at 5-under. She sank an 11-footer for birdie on No. 11, 7-footer on No. 14 and then had three straight birdies on No. 17, No. 18 and No. 1. Â
A product of Sugar Land, Texas, Chen hit a 14-foot birdie on No. 17, seven-footer on No. 18 and then hit her 3-hybrid from 191 yards to nine feet on No. 1 and drained the putt. Her six birdies were a season high, while hitting 15 greens, 10 fairways and rolling 28 putts. Â
Coming off a career-best round of 70 on Saturday, freshman
Rylie Heflin had a 77 on the final day to finish in a tie for 47th with a 221. She opened Sunday on No. 6 by hitting a wedge from 105 yards to two feet for birdie. Heflin, who is from Avondale, Pa., would go on to bogey eight of her next 13 holes, but closed strong with back-to-back birdies on No. 3 and No. 4. On the 522-yard, par-5 third hole, she rolled in an 8-foot birdie and then used her 8-iron from 145 yards on No. 4 to hit it to 10 feet for birdie. Â
Sophomore
Phoebe Brinker was in the red for most of her final round, after starting on hole No. 6. Following two pars, Brinker sank a 15-footer for birdie on No. 8. She moved to 2-under by rolling in a 5-footer for birdie on No. 10. Brinker, a native of Wilmington, Del., got to 3-under with a birdie on No. 13. She held a 3-under ledger through 15 holes, but suffered three straight bogeys to conclude her round with an even-par, 72. She finished the weekend in a tie for 52nd with a 222. Â
Junior
Megan Furtney closed her tournament with an 80 on Sunday, while being held without a birdie for the first time all weekend. Â
Duke will conclude its fall campaign at the East Lake Cup Oct. 25-27 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. The Golf Channel will air live coverage during the event. Â
#GoDuke
Duke Results
T2 2
Erica Shepherd Duke 66  70 70      206 -10
T23 T16
Anne Chen Duke 70  73 71      214 -2
T27 T47
Rylie Heflin Duke 74  70 77      221 +5
T72 T52
Phoebe Brinker Duke 76  74 72      222 +6
T91 95
Megan Furtney Duke 83  76 80      239 +23
1 2 3 Team Scores
2Â 1Â 1 Wake Forest 283Â 277Â 287Â Â Â Â Â Â 847Â -17
T4Â 3Â 2 Clemson 285Â 280Â 292Â Â Â Â Â Â 857Â -7
1Â 2Â 3 Virginia Tech 282Â 282Â 295Â Â Â Â Â Â 859Â -5
T6Â T5Â 4 Alabama 286Â 287Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 862Â -2
3Â 8Â T5 Kentucky 284Â 290Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 863Â -1
T6Â T5Â T5 Duke 286Â 287Â 290Â Â Â Â Â Â 863Â -1
T4Â 4Â 7 Michigan 285Â 285Â 296Â Â Â Â Â Â 866Â +2
11Â T9Â 8 Mississippi State 293Â 284Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 868Â +4
9Â T9Â T9 North Carolina 289Â 288Â 293Â Â Â Â Â Â 870Â +6
T6Â T5Â T9 Vanderbilt 286Â 287Â 297Â Â Â Â Â Â 870Â +6
10Â 12Â 11 Furman 290Â 295Â 286Â Â Â Â Â Â 871Â +7
14Â 11Â 12 Michigan State 296Â 285Â 292Â Â Â Â Â Â 873Â +9
17Â 16Â 13 Maryland 299Â 291Â 285Â Â Â Â Â Â 875Â +11
T12Â T13Â 14 North Carolina State 295Â 293Â 288Â Â Â Â Â Â 876Â +12
16Â 15Â 15 Ohio State 298Â 291Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 878Â +14
15Â 17Â 16 SMU 297Â 294Â 298Â Â Â Â Â Â 889Â +25
T12Â T13Â 17 UNCW 295Â 293Â 302Â Â Â Â Â Â 890Â +26
19Â 18Â 18 Rollins College 301Â 295Â 303Â Â Â Â Â Â 899Â +35
18Â 19Â 19 North Carolina 300Â 309Â 318Â Â Â Â Â Â 927Â +63
Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 70  63 72      205 -11
T2 2
Erica Shepherd Duke 66  70 70      206 -10
T5 T3 Becca DiNunzio Virginia Tech 73  66 71      210 -6
T8 T3 Benedetta Moresco Alabama 68  72 70      210 -6
T5 T3 Hailey Borja Michigan 71  68 71      210 -6
T11 T3 Ivy Shepherd Clemson 72  69 69      210 -6
T2 T3 Melena Barrientos Clemson 70  66 74      210 -6
T11 T8 Julia Lopez Ramirez Mississippi State 71  70 70      211 -5
T5 T8 Emily Mahar Virginia Tech 69  70 72      211 -5
T8 T8 Kayla Smith North Carolina 69  71 71      211 -5
T11 T8 Polly Mack Alabama 72  69 70      211 -5
T17 T8 Anna Morgan Furman 71  71 69      211 -5
T17 13 Jensen Castle Kentucky 73  69 70      212 -4
T11 T14 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 71  70 72      213 -3
T17 T14 Maria Vittoria Corbi Maryland 71  71 71      213 -3
T33 T16 Vanessa Knecht * Wake Forest 72  73 69      214 -2
T23 T16
Anne Chen Duke 70  73 71      214 -2
T8 T16 Celina Sattelkau Vanderbilt 70  70 74      214 -2
T17 T16 Carolina Lopez-Chacarra Wake Forest 70  72 72      214 -2
T33 T16 Patricie Mackova Maryland 72  73 69      214 -2
T27 T21 Virunpat Olankitkunchai Wake Forest 72  72 71      215 -1
T23 T21 Tess Davenport Vanderbilt 70  73 72      215 -1
T17 T21 Hannah Levi Mississippi State 74  68 73      215 -1
T11 T21 Haylin Harris * Michigan State 69  72 74      215 -1
T53 T21 Aneka Seumanutafa Ohio State 75  72 68      215 -1
T45 T26 Marissa Wenzler Kentucky 69  77 70      216 E
4 T26 Krista Junkkari North Carolina 70  68 78      216 E
T45 T26 Faith Choi Ohio State 74  72 70      216 E
T58 T29 Panassaya Somchit Maryland 76  72 69      217 +1
T33 T29 Lauren Olivares North Carolina State 73  72 72      217 +1
T33 T29 Ashley Chow SMU 73  72 72      217 +1
T53 T29 Leila Raines Michigan State 76  71 70      217 +1
T33 T29 Maria Villanueva Kentucky 74  71 72      217 +1
T33 T29 Ashley Lau Michigan 70  75 72      217 +1
T33 T35 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 73  72 73      218 +2
T11 T35 Laney Frye Kentucky 68  73 77      218 +2
T27 T35 Monet Chun Michigan 72  72 74      218 +2
T27 T35 Savannah Grewal Clemson 71  73 74      218 +2
T23 T35 Jillian Bourdage Ohio State 71  72 75      218 +2
T58 T40 Brooke Biermann Michigan State 75  73 71      219 +3
T45 T40 Mallory Fobes UNCW 74  72 73      219 +3
T33 T40 Valery Plata Michigan State 74  71 74      219 +3
T23 T43 Keera Foocharoen Virginia Tech 73  70 77      220 +4
T17 T43 Emilie Overas Alabama 72  70 78      220 +4
T33 T43 Virginie Ding Vanderbilt 73  72 75      220 +4
T33 T43 Symone Henriques Virginia Tech 69  76 75      220 +4
T58 T47 Malu Brinker UNCW 75  73 73      221 +5
T27 T47
Rylie Heflin Duke 74  70 77      221 +5
T53 T47 Sophia Burnett Furman 72  75 74      221 +5
T75 T47 Natalie Ambruester North Carolina State 77  74 70      221 +5
T27 T47 Callista Rice Clemson 72  72 77      221 +5
T45 T52 Serena Shah SMU 73  73 76      222 +6
T58 T52 Lea Klimentova North Carolina State 74  74 74      222 +6
T66 T52 Abbey Daniel Mississippi State 77  72 73      222 +6
T72 T52
Phoebe Brinker Duke 76  74 72      222 +6
T33 T52 Valentina Rossi Michigan State 75  70 77      222 +6
T72 T52 Isabel Amezcua North Carolina State 73  77 72      222 +6
T72 T52 Crista Izuzquiza North Carolina 77  73 72      222 +6
T75 T52 Savannah Hylton Furman 77  74 71      222 +6
T66 60 Stephany Kim North Carolina 73  76 74      223 +7
T33 T61 Sarah-Eve Rheaume Furman 70  75 79      224 +8
T58 T61 Louise Yu Vanderbilt 73  75 76      224 +8
T45 T61 Blair Stockett Mississippi State 72  74 78      224 +8
T81 T64 Kyra Cox Furman 78  75 72      225 +9
T27 T64 Anika Dy Michigan 72  72 81      225 +9
T45 T64 Mikaela Schulz Michigan 73  73 79      225 +9
T58 T64 Inja Fric North Carolina State 75  73 77      225 +9
T66 T64 Berni Villalba Rollins College 75  74 76      225 +9
T75 T64 Sarah Edwards Alabama 74  77 74      225 +9
T53 T64 Ginnie Lee Virginia Tech 71  76 78      225 +9
T58 T71 Nicole Lu North Carolina 71  77 78      226 +10
T45 T71 Phu Khine UNCW 73  73 80      226 +10
T78 T73 Jennifer Jung Rollins College 74  78 75      227 +11
T53 T73 Aleks Golde North Carolina 74  73 80      227 +11
T87 T75 Kennedy Pedigo SMU 77  78 73      228 +12
T81 T75 Lauren Miller Mississippi State 76  77 75      228 +12
T66 T75 Nina Rissi Michigan State 72  77 79      228 +12
T58 T75 Madi Olson SMU 76  72 80      228 +12
T78 T75 Anna Wills UNCW 77  75 76      228 +12
T45 T75 Elizabeth Kondal Rollins College 74  72 82      228 +12
T81 T81 Carla Alvarez Perez Rollins College 82  71 76      229 +13
T78 T81 Katie James SMU 75  77 77      229 +13
T81 T81 Skylar Thompson Ohio State 78  75 76      229 +13
T85 T84 Natalia Aseguinolaza North Carolina 77  77 76      230 +14
T66 T84 Ariel Yu Vanderbilt 77  72 81      230 +14
T66 T84 Deborah Spair UNCW 73  76 81      230 +14
T85 87 Kristin Jamieson Ohio State 78  76 77      231 +15
T87 88 Angela Garvin Maryland 80  75 77      232 +16
T91 89 Lindsay May Clemson 84  75 75      234 +18
T89 T90 Nicole Adam North Carolina 79  78 79      236 +20
94 T90 Karla Vazquez Setz Maryland 83  77 76      236 +20
95 92 Katharina Hesse Rollins College 78  83 76      237 +21
T89 T93 Riley Quartermain North Carolina 76  81 81      238 +22
T91 T93 Marta Lopez Echevarria Kentucky 82  77 79      238 +22
T91 95
Megan Furtney Duke 83  76 80      239 +23
96 - Angelica Moresco Alabama D  76 75      -    -Â