Duke women’s golf team carded an opening-round of one-over-par

Duncan came up short on No. 8 and holed a key five-footer for par to remain at even par heading into the 455-yard, par five ninth hole.  She bombed a drive and had only 210 yards to the green.  Duncan hit her hybrid to the front of the green and rolled to within 15 feet.  She went on to drain her fifth eagle of the season to give her a two-under-par, 70, on the day.  On the morning, she hit nine fairways, 12 greens and had a team-best 29 putts.

“Well, let me tell you, when TaylorMade RocketBallZ Driver Lindy [Duncan] made that putt [on No. 9 for eagle], that was key.  We had a lot of good things that happened, but we needed some putts to fall,” said Brooks. “This is the national championship and you cannot afford to miss a lot of those little putts. That was pretty important to get us in position tomorrow.”

She struggled over the next six holes with three bogeys and three pars to drop to one-over-par.  All three of her bogeys were off three-putts.  Cangrejo closed strong with five consecutive pars before hitting her approach shot on No. 9 to three feet and sinking the birdie putt.  On the day, she featured a team-high 34 putts, while hitting a team-best 16 greens and 10 fairways.  Her 16 greens in regulation is a career-best for the sophomore.

Leading the Duke charge in the first round was the top-ranked golfer in the nation Lindy Duncan, who carded a two-under-par, 70, and is tied for ninth overall.  A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Duncan got off to a shaky start with two bogeys over her first seven holes.  She started to get things going after draining a six-foot birdie putt on No. 17 as she went on to make the turn at one-over, 37. 

Immediately following Tuesday’s round, Virginia held a six-under-par, 282, team ledger but Elizabeth Brightwell of the Cavaliers signed for the wrong score and was disqualified.  This dropped Virginia’s score to an even-par, 288. 

After having to withdraw from the NCAA East Regional with an elbow injury, Alejandra Cangrejo returned to the TaylorMade RocketBallZ fairway wood lineup on Tuesday and continued her solid play with an even-par, 72.  She featured Duke’s best start on the day as she was two-under-par through six with birdies on the 11th and 15 holes.  Cangrejo, who is from Bogota, Colombia, sank a nine-footer for birdie on the 11th hole and rolled in a 25-footer on No. 15. 

After making a bogey on the 384-yard, par four first hole, Duncan started dialing it in.  She drained a two-inch birdie putt on No. 2 and then registered four straight pars.  On the second hole, she hit her wedge from 70-yards to inches from cup.  Duncan, who is a two-time first team All-America and three-time ACC Player of the Year selection, then hit her drive on the 504-yard, par five seventh hole near the trees on the right and was forced to punch out down the fairway.  She stuck her approach to within two feet and sank her third birdie of the day. 

“She is out there playing with an injury that really, really hurt,” said Brooks.  “The doctor said it was like hitting your funny bone with a hammer. She is out there with the courage to play. That is really tough.”

“I hope so,” said Duncan on the finishing giving her momentum going into tomorrow.  “It was kind of a struggle, a little shaky in the beginning.  But I did a good job of hanging in there.  Anytime you can score well is really exciting.”

A native of Blacksburg, Va., Ellenbogen regrouped and played her final 11 holes at one-under-par to close with a 75.  She sank her only birdie of the day on the 324-yard, par four second discount golf clubs hole as she rolled in a 14-footer.  Ellenbogen hit 11 greens, eight fairways and had 31 putts on the day.  Prior to the NCAA East Regional, Ellenbogen featured a 77.48 stroke average, but over the last four rounds has dialed in a 74.25 average.