Li, Smith Combine to Shoot 8-Under in Spring Opener Sunday

Sunday, February 2

Orlando, Fla.

All Day

Duke University

PDI Intercollegiate – Hosted by UCF

Photo by: Todd Drexler

Li, Smith Combine to Shoot 8-Under in Spring Opener Sunday

2/2/2025 5:15:00 PM | Women's Golf

Scoring Photo Gallery

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Duke women's golf program opened the spring season Sunday in Orlando with an impressive 8-under-par, 280, and sits in second place at the PDI Intercollegiate – Hosted by UCF, which was contested at the Eagle Creek Golf Club.

The Duke duo of Katie Li and Andie Smith each carded a 4-under-par to help pace the Blue Devils and enter the second round in a tie for sixth overall, which is three shots of the individual lead.

As a team, Duke's 280 is three shots off the team lead as Baylor posted an 11-under, 277, in the first round. Rounding out the top five teams were South Florida (281), Tulsa (282), North Carolina (283), Nebraska (283) and Mississippi State (283).

HOW IT HAPPENED

For the fourth time in her career, Andie Smith opened a tournament with a 4-under, 68.She featured Duke's best start to the day with three birdies over her first seven holes.Smith, who is from Hobe Sound, Fla., hit her 50-degree wedge from 109 yards on No. 2 to five feet for birdie and then rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on No. 3 to get to 2-under.After three pars, Smith drained a 20-foot birdie putt to get to 3-under.She suffered a bogey on No. 8 and made the turn at 2-under, 35.Smith added another birdie on the 484-yard, par-5 13th as she chipped from the greenside to eight feet.She moved to 4-under by sinking another long birdie from 40 feet on No. 15.For the day, Smith hit 12 greens, 13 fairways and rolled 27 putts.
Out of five tournaments in her sophomore season, Katie Li has now kicked them off with a round in the 60s in three of those events with her 4-under, 68.After five pars to open Sunday's round, Li hit her 54-degree wedge from 83 yards to five feet for birdie to get in the red.She made the turn at 1-under, 34, and then collected her second birdie on the 362-yard, par-4 10th as Li stuck her gap wedge from 98 yards to a foot.Li, a native of Basking Ridge, N.J., rolled in a 24-footer for birdie on No. 12 to move to 3-under and then chipped from 35 yards to four feet for birdie on the par-5 No. 16 to finish the day at 4-under-par.She hit seven fairways, 15 greens and had 29 putts.
Both freshmen -- Anna Cañado Espinal and Carla De Troia – signed for an even-par, 72, in their spring debut.
Espinal, a product of Barcelona, Spain, parred the first seven holes, before suffering her lone bogey of the day on No. 8.She then hit her 5-wood from 197 yards to 16 feet for birdie on No. 13 to return to even for the day.Espinal closed with five pars to finish with a 72.She hit a team-best 17 greens, 11 fairways and had 34 putts in her round.
De Troia opened with a par and bogey, but turned it around quickly with back-to-back birdies on No. 3 and No. 4.On the 375-yard, par-4 third, she hit her approach from 122 yards to six feet for birdie, while hitting her 50-degree wedge on No. 4 from 94 yards to 13 feet for birdie.De Troia, who hails from Paris, France, parred 13 of her next 14 holes with a bogey on the other (No. 12) to close the day with a 72.She hit 11 fairways, 13 greens and had 31 putts.
After posting two bogeys in her first two holes, senior Rylie Heflin settled down to par the next two holes and then collect back-to-back birdies on No. 5 and No. 6 to return to even.On the 167-yard, par-3 fifth, Heflin rolled in a 30-footer for birdie.She then hit her pitching wedge from 110 yards to three feet on No. 6 for birdie.Heflin, who is from Avondale, Pa., played the next six holes at 3-over-par, before returning to form for the final six holes.She 2-putted from 40 feet on the par-5 13th for birdie and then drained a 15-footer for birdie on No. 14 to get two strokes back.Heflin parred the final four holes to finish with a 73.She hit 12 fairways, 14 greens and had 33 putts on the day.
Playing as an individual, freshman Martina Yu turned in a 79.

NOTES

Katie Li currently holds a 20-hole bogey-free streak, which is a team best in 2024-25.
Li now owns seven career rounds in the 60s and her third this season.
Andie Smith owns 16 career rounds in the 60s to move into a tie for seventh on Duke's all-time record charts along with Phoebe Brinker. Smith's six rounds in the 60s in 2024-25 leads the squad.
Both Smith and Li are tied for the team leader on the season with seven rounds of even or under par.
Smith's 3.60 stroke average on par-4 holes ranked tied for second, while Li's 3.70 was tied for fourth.
Anna Cañado Espinal posted her fifth round of even or under par this season, while Carla De Troia notched her fourth.
Espinal's 16 pars tied for first along with three other golfers.
Espinal has totaled four consecutive rounds of even or under par dating back to the Landfall Tradition.
The 8-under, 280, in the opening round is the second-best first round this season.Both have come over the last two events as Duke shot 9-under, 279, in the Landfall Tradition to close the fall.
As a team Duke registered 16 birdies in round one, while its 65 pars ranked second among the field.
The 8-under, 280, ranks as the tied for eighth-lowest first round score in Duke history on a par-72 course.

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke will tee off in the second round beginning at 8:30 a.m., off hole No. 1 along with Kansas and Baylor.

QUOTES
"We had a pretty solid day. Everyone seemed to stay patient and not expect too much, which is smart in a wintertime tournament." -- Duke head coach Dan Brooks

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