Love Finishes Seventh, Sample Goes Low in Valspar Collegiate Final Round

Tuesday, March 28

Palm Beach, Fla.

Duke University

Round 3 at Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Love Finishes Seventh, Sample Goes Low in Valspar Collegiate Final Round

3/28/2023 5:24:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (PDF)

PALM CITY, Fla. – The Blue Devils' men's golf team wrapped up play at the Valspar Collegiate on Tuesday with a third-round 9-under, 275, at the Floridian Golf Club. Duke finished the event in a tie for ninth place with a 54-hole score of 5-under, 847. Freshman William Love claimed his third top-10 finish of the season, ending his tournament in seventh place at 8-under, 205, while Luke Sample carded a 66, the lowest 18-hole total score of his career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

As a team, Duke shot a 9-under, 275, in Tuesday's final round.
Luke Sample paced Duke's lineup on the final day with a 5-under, 66. The sophomore started on No. 10 and made the turn at 2-under. Sample capped off bogey-free round on the front-nine and highlighted his day with an eagle putt on the par-4 sixth hole followed by a birdie on the par-5 seventh to reach 5-under. Sample finished the event in a tie for 26th place at 2-under, 211.
Starting his morning on No. 9, William Love poured in three birdies over the first four holes to quickly get into red numbers for the third straight round. Another birdie on No. 17 helped offset back-to-back bogeys and had the freshman at 2-under halfway through his round. Love picked up a birdie on No. 1 and then scattered three bogeys over his next five holes before closing out his final round with three consecutive birdies. Love went under-par in all three of his rounds and ended up in solo-seventh place at 8-under, 205.
Jimmy Zheng weathered an up-and-down final round on Tuesday and carded a 1-over, 72. After starting the round on No. 10 and making the turn onto the front-nine at 1-over, the junior went birdie-eagle on holes No. 6 and 7 to close out his final round strong. Zheng finished his week in a tie for 42nd place at 2-over, 215.
Duke's third under-par round on Tuesday came courtesy of Kelly Chinn, who signed for a 2-under, 69. Chinn birdied four of his first seven holes and steadied himself after three bogeys with a birdie on the par-5 seventh and went on to finish the round with four straight pars. Chinn placed in a tie for 68th with a 54-hole score of 8-over, 221.
Also for Duke, Ian Siebers rounded out his week with a 2-over, 73, on Tuesday and finished in 72nd overall at 10-over, 223.

NOTES

Duke has finished ninth or better in eight of its nine events so far this season
As a team, Duke had the third-best scoring on par-5's across the two days, going 20-under on those holes.
The Blue Devils made 61 birdies over the course of the three rounds.
William Love recorded his third top-10 finish this season.
Love led all individuals in scoring on par-4's at 6-under.
Love's 68 on Tuesday is his eighth round in the 60's and his 13th under-par round this season.
Love has finished at even-par or better in each of his last five rounds.
Luke Sample carded his lowest 18-hole total score of his career with his 66 on Tuesday and leads the team with nine rounds in the 60's this season.
Kelly Chinn has finished under-par in four of his last six rounds and now has eight rounds in the 60's this season.

QUOTES

"The entire event was amazing, and it felt great to be able to help the team at such a great event. All I was trying to do all week was hit solid shots to get on fairways and hit greens … it was a great experience to play such a prestigious event and hopefully we can get things really going for the rest of the year." – Duke freshman William Love
"I gave myself a ton of opportunities and even though I didn't convert on as many as I would've liked, I was really pleased with the way I kept rolling. The eagle-birdie combo towards the end of the round was really special. I hit a really solid 3-iron on No. 6 from 272 yards that rolled out to nine feet and then converting on the putt for eagle felt great. And then on No. 7, I hit a great 4-iron out of a fairway bunker from 245 yards out to set up the birdie." – Duke sophomore Luke Sample

UP NEXT

Duke stays close to home for its final event prior to ACC Championship play, as the Blue Devils participate in the Stitch Intercollegiate on April 7 and 8, held at the Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, N.C.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMGOLF".

#GoDuke