Duke Defeats UNC Greensboro, 5-3, in Match Play

Sunday, April 16

Greensboro, N.C.

Duke University

UNC Greensboro

Duke Defeats UNC Greensboro, 5-3, in Match Play

4/16/2023 9:05:00 PM | Men's Golf

GREENSBORO – The Duke men's golf team secured a 5-3 victory in its match play event against UNC Greensboro, held on the Farm Course at the Greensboro Country Club on Sunday afternoon. The two teams, both ranked within Golfweek's most recent top 50, had all eight matches go at least 15 holes.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Daniel Choi secured Duke's first point of the match with a 2-up victory over Parker Truesdale. The freshman took an early lead with a par on No. 1 and never trailed on the front nine. Choi took a 2-point lead on No. 10 before dropping three of the next four holes to trail for the first time. The Westlake, Texas native responded with wins on back-to-back holes, including a birdie on No. 15, to regain the lead. A birdie on the par-5 18th secured the 2-up win.
Ethan Evans never trailed en route to securing the Blue Devils' second win of the day, winning 4&3 over Connor Brown. Evans won the first hole and maintained a 1-up lead for the first eight holes before closing his front nine at 2-up after a birdie on No. 9. The Mercer Island, Wash., native won three holes over the stretch of No. 11-14 to go 4-up before a par on No. 15 closed out the 4&3 victory.
After a tie on the first hole, Jimmy Zheng birdied the par-5 second and never trailed the remainder of the afternoon en route to a 4&2 win against Tommy Lamb. A dominant front nine saw the junior grab a lead as large as 5-up after a birdie on No. 9. After Lamb narrowed Zheng's lead to 2-up on No. 14, Zheng rolled in a birdie to win No. 15 and won the match with a par on No. 16.
Kelly Chinn won 3&2 against Noah Connor, in a match where Chinn never trailed. A halve on No. 1 was followed by three consecutive wins by Chinn. The Great Falls, Va., native made the turn at 3-up after a 3-under front nine and never allowed Connor to close within a single point on the back. Chinn birdied the par-4 16th to secure the victory.
In what proved to be the deciding point of the overall event, Luke Sample grabbed a 2&1 victory versus Nick Lyerly in the final match of the day. After going 1-down on No. 2, Sample matched Lyerly for the next five holes and birdied the par-3 eighth to draw level. Another birdie on No. 9 and a par on No. 11 pushed the sophomore to 2-up. Sample dropped just one hole for the remainder of the match and closed out the match with a par and a halve on No. 17.
John Peters, who eventually fell 4&2 to BJ Boyce, battled back from an early 2-down deficit. Peters tied the match with a par on No. 5 but was unable to grab a lead as the round progressed. Ian Siebers tied the first seven holes of his match but eventually dropped a 4&3 decision to Randall Hudson. William Love took an early lead over Symon Balbin but went 1-down after a par on No. 9, could not level the match on the back nine and ultimately fell, 2&1.

NOTES

Four Blue Devils finished their match while sitting at even-par or better. Kelly Chinn led the Blue Devils, playing his 16 holes at 3-under, Jimmy Zheng and Luke Sample were both 2-under through 16 and 17 holes of play, respectively, and William Love sat at even-par after his 17 holes of competition.
Chinn, Sample and Zheng all improved their career match play records to 2-0-0.
Daniel Choi and Ethan Evans both picked up their first match play victory as a Blue Devil.

UP NEXT

Duke turns its attention to the postseason, starting with the ACC Championship, held at the Country Club of North Carolina from April 21 through April 24.
Three rounds of stroke play are contested over the first two days, with the top four teams advancing to the match play semifinals and finals on April 23 and 24.

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

#GoDuke