Duke Claims Second Straight Stitch Intercollegiate Title

Tuesday, April 11

Raleigh, N.C.

Duke University

Rounds 1 & 2 at Stitch Intercollegiate

Team photo after Stitch Intercollegiate title

Duke Claims Second Straight Stitch Intercollegiate Title

4/11/2023 8:45:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (PDF)

RALEIGH – The Duke men's golf team repeated as Stitch Intercollegiate champions on Tuesday and tallied its third team title of the season, finishing at 21-under, 547, at Lonnie Poole Golf Course. The Blue Devils had four players finish in the top 10, led by Kelly Chinn who finished in second place at 6-under, 136.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND 1

Duke shot a 3-under, 281, in the first round.
Kelly Chinn started his day with a bogey-free 4-under, jumping into a tie for second place after his first 18 holes. The sophomore rolled in three birdies over a stretch of six holes on the front nine and added his fourth on the par-5 11th.
The second under-par scorecard of the opening round was turned in by Ethan Evans, who signed for a 2-under, 69. The freshman recovered from an early bogey with two birdies on holes No. 4 and 6 and then played his final seven holes bogey-free while pouring in two more birdies.
Luke Sample finished at even-par, 71, in his first round of the tournament. The New York, N.Y., native rallied from a 2-over, 37, on the front nine with three birdies on the back nine, including on the par-4 18th.
Jimmy Zheng, filling in for Ian Siebers who was scratched from the lineup due to illness, ended the first round in a tie for 19th after a 3-over, 74. The junior carded 14 pars while also adding a birdie on the par-4 10th.
Also for Duke, William Love finished at 6-over, 77, for the first round.
Duke had three players competing individually. John Peters shot a 2-over, 73, to lead the individuals and was joined by Daniel Uranga and Daniel Choi at 3-over and 5-over, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED: ROUND 2

As a team, Duke shot an 18-under, 266, to close out the tournament.
William Love began his second round of the day hot, rolling in four birdies over his first six holes and adding the fifth birdie of his opening nine holes at the par-5 seventh. The freshman responded from a dropped shot on No. 12 with four more birdies over his final five holes to close out a 9-under, 62, in the second round.
After a steady first round, Luke Sample immediately got into red numbers with a birdie on No. 1 to open his second round. He remained bogey-free for the remainder of the front nine and highlighted his day with a hole-out eagle from 193 yards on the par-4 ninth, making the turn at 4-under. Two more birdies on the back nine helped offset one bogey and finished off a 5-under, 66.
Kelly Chinn was the third Blue Devil to finish in the top five on the leaderboard after a second-round 2-under, 69. After starting his afternoon with a par on No. 18, the Great Falls, Va., native made birdie on holes No. 2, 4, 6 and 7. Chinn dropped a shot on three consecutive holes on the back nine but ended his round strong, rolling in a birdie on the par-3 17th.
Jimmy Zheng rounded out the Duke lineup's scoring with a 2-under, 69, in the second round. After beginning the round with six consecutive pars, Zheng reeled off three straight birdies to finish his front nine. The junior continued his consistent play on the back nine, making eight pars while dropping only one shot on the par-5 15th.
Also for Duke, Ethan Evans signed for a 5-over, 76, for his second round.
The Blue Devils' individuals – John Peters, Daniel Choi and Daniel Uranga – finished at 2-under, even-par and 8-over respectively in their second rounds.

NOTES

Duke repeated as Stitch Intercollegiate team champions, after securing the title in 2022 as well.
The team title is the 30th for head coach Jamie Green and 92nd in program history.
As a team, Duke led the tournament in scoring on par-3's and par-4's, going 2-under and 2-over on those respective holes.
Duke had three players finish in the top five and four in the top 10.
Duke's second-round 18-under, 266, is tied for the fourth-best score to par in program history and is the second-best total score for 18 holes in program history.
Kelly Chinn tied for the best scoring of any individual on par-3's and par-5's, going 3-under and 4-under.
William Love's second-round 62 is the best total score in Duke freshman history and his 9-under matches the best score to par for any Duke freshman. His 62 is the third-best total score in program history and the second-best score to par in program history.
Love carded the most birdies of any individual, rolling in 11 for the tournament.
Luke Sample matched his career-best total score of 66, which he set in the third round of the Valspar Collegiate earlier this season.
Two Blue Devils – John Peters and Sample – tied for the second-best scoring on par-4's, at 4-under.

QUOTES

"Round one, I was a little bit hesitant with my back and made a couple of swings where I was kind of avoiding going against it but I got to round two and was warmed up. You're better off making a confident swing, so I made a lot of really good, confident swings and got lucky to get some good results" – William Love on his second-round 62
"We came out here with the mindset of 'let's go play well against these other teams, we have a chance to prove ourselves before going into the postseason'. I think to come out dominant after today, with such a good performance, really gives us a big boost going into the postseason" – Love on how the win helps the team as they wrap up the regular season
"I think mostly it just goes by really quickly. The 36-hole days, it's a lot of golf but when that's the start and finish it really is a sprint. I was happy with the way we got off to a solid start as a team. I was kind of dragging a little bit early but to be able to have us all pick it up in the middle and just really run away with it, in not a lot of time, is encouraging and something that's going to matter a lot come postseason." – Luke Sample on the long day of competition

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