Blue Devils Advance to Match Play; Malixi Places Third Individually

CARLSBAD, Calif. – For the sixth time in program history, the Duke women's golf program has advanced to the match play portion of the NCAA Championship as the Blue Devils carded a 7-over-par, 1,159, during four days of stroke play to finish seventh at the 6,271-yard, par-72 Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course in Carlsbad.

Duke freshman Rianne Malixi turned in a 9-under-par, 279, to place third individually with rounds of 73, 69, 68 and 69. The 72-hole score of 279 was tied for the second-lowest in Duke history, and Malixi became just the sixth Duke freshman to place in the top five of an NCAA Championship, joining Phoebe Brinker, Virginia Elena Carta, Leona Maguire, Jennie Lee and Candy Hannemann.

The Blue Devils logged rounds of 291, 286, 289 and 293 over four days for a 1,159, which is tied for the fourth-lowest in program history. Duke moved on to match play for the sixth time and now ranks third all-time in match play appearances. The Blue Devils placed in the top 10 of the NCAA Championship for the 25th time in program history.

Duke will be the No. 7 seed in match play and will face second-seeded Southern California Tuesday morning at 9:50 a.m. (ET) off hole No. 1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke teed off beginning at 11:51 a.m., local time off hole No. 10.
The Blue Devils had a slow start with four bogeys and two double-bogeys over the first four holes to fall down the leaderboard. Duke rebounded though by making six birdies over the last six holes to move back up the leaderboard. Rianne Malixi (2), Avery McCrery and Anna Cañado Espinal all made birdies down the stretch and Andie Smith parred her final seven holes to keep the Blue Devils inside the top eight.
After opening with a par on No. 10, Malixi suffered a double-bogey on No. 11. She regrouped quickly though as she birdied three out of the next five holes – No. 13, No. 14 and No. 16. Malixi, a native of Manila, Philippines, suffered a three-putt bogey on No. 1, but responded by sticking her approach on No. 2 to a foot for birdie with her 52-degree wedge. She got up-and-down for par on No. 3 and No. 5, before rolling in a 6-foot birdie on the 470-yard, par-5 sixth hole. Malixi collected a 12-foot birdie to close her day with a 3-under, 69. She hit 15 greens and 11 fairways on the day.
Smith parred her first eight holes, before striking her 54-degree wedge from 89 yards to two feet for birdie on No. 18. She suffered her only two bogeys of the day on No. 1 and No. 2, but closed strong with seven pars in a row to finish with a 73. A product of Hobe Sound, Florida, Smith had four up-and-downs, while hitting 12 greens and nine fairways. She placed tied for 23rd overall with a 1-over, 289, which was her best finish in an NCAA Championship.
McCrery opened her day with a lip-out birdie attempt on No. 10 and then parred No. 11. After a pair of bogeys, she played her final 14 holes at even par to finish with a 74. She connected on her first birdie on the 531-yard, par-5 second hole as she hit her 48-degree wedge from 84 yards to five feet. The Wilmington, Delaware product also sank a 35-footer on No. 7 for birdie. McCrery hit all 14 fairways and had 12 greens in regulation. She placed tied for 46th with a 7-over, 295.
Junior Katie Li had a solid round going Monday as she was even par through 12 holes, but struggled on her way in finishing with a 78. Li, who hails from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, parred seven out of her first eight holes, while having a double-bogey on No. 13. She connected on her first birdie of the day on No. 18 as she hit her 8-iron from 126 yards to three feet. Li went back to even for the day by draining a 35-foot putt from off the green on the 163-yard, par-3 third hole. She dropped six shots over her final six holes to close the day.
Cañado Espinal had a slow start as she was 4-over on the first nine, while notching one birdie on No. 16 as she rolled in a 15-footer. On the final nine holes, she played it at 1-over en route to finishing with a 77. Cañado Espinal, who is from Barcelona, Spain, added a 4-foot birdie on the 450-yard, par-4 seventh hole as she hit her 54-degree wedge from 120 yards to four feet. She hit 15 greens and had 12 fairways.
The eight teams that advanced to match play were Stanford (1130), Southern California (1143), Arkansas (1153), Texas (1153), Eastern Michigan (1154), Oklahoma State (1155), Duke (1159) and Pepperdine (1163).
Farrah O'Keefe of Texas won the individual title with a 12-under, 276.

NOTES

Duke advanced to match play for the sixth time since the NCAA went to match play in 2015 to decide the championship – 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2026.
The Blue Devils carded their 15th top-10 finish at the NCAA Championship since 2004, which is the second-most nationally. Duke has placed in the top 10 a total of 25 times now, which ranks fifth all time.
Duke's six appearances in match play rank third behind Stanford (11) and Southern California (9).
The Blue Devils will face Southern California for the third time over the six times Duke has advanced to match play. Duke defeated USC, 4-1, in 2016 in Eugene, Oregon and dropped a 3-1-1 decision in 2018 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Duke finished with the tied for second-most birdies in the field with 63.
Rianne Malixi is just the second Blue Devil to notch three straight rounds in the 60s in an NCAA Tournament joining Virginia Elena Carta in 2016.
Malixi led the field with a 7-under-par score on par-4 holes. Her 19 birdies were tied for second overall.
Malixi finished the season with 18 rounds of even or under par and 10 rounds in the 60s. She ranks tied for fourth on Duke's freshman record charts in even or under par rounds and tied for first in rounds in the 60s along with Leona Maguire.
With her 10 rounds in the 60s, she became just the fifth Duke golfer to turn in 10 or more rounds in the 60s in a season -- Amanda Blumenherst (13), Leona Maguire (10 twice) and Lindy Duncan (10). Malixi is the first since Maguire accomplished it in 2017-18.
Malixi closed the spring with a 40-under-par score through six events.
Malixi's 121 birdies on the season tied Maguire's single-season Duke record.
Malixi's 70.61 stroke average on the season was the second-lowest in Duke history.
The scoring average dropped to 75.15 in the final round, after being 73.56 the day before.

QUOTES

"Very excited. Like I said yesterday, we're just at the beginning and I think we're ready to go tomorrow and get it done. I'm just really proud of this group for all the work that we put in all season. Just supporting each other, keeping each other accountable and showing them the national stage." -- Duke graduate student Andie Smith on advancing to match play
"I'm really happy with the performance the last three days. I know my first day was a rough start, but I was able to bounce back over the past three days. Today, I had a rough start as well as I doubled my second hole. I was able to bounce back with back-to-back birdies two holes after, which was great. I finished my first nine at 1-under-par. Then things got slow, but I was able to be really patient today and I'm really proud of myself for doing that. And then I finished the round 3-under." -- Duke freshman Rianne Malixi

WHAT IS NEXT

Duke opens the quarterfinals of match play Tuesday, May 26 at 9:50 a.m. (ET) off hole No. 1 against second-seeded Southern California. Live scoring is available here. The Golf Channel will air coverage from 1-3:30 p.m. (ET) of the quarterfinal match p.m. The winner of the match will advance to the semifinals against the winner of the Arkansas versus Oklahoma State contest. The semifinal match is expected to start at 5:05 p.m. (ET) Tuesday afternoon.

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

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Duke Results
Rianne Malixi                                  73-69-68-69=279 (3, -9)
Andie Smith                                    74-70-72-73=289 (T23, +1)
Avery McCrery                               71-74-76-74=295 (T46, +7)
Katie Li                                            73-73-73-78=297 (T55, +9)
Anna Cañado Espinal                   78-75-78-77=308 (84, +20)
Team                                               291-286-289-293=1159 (7, +7)

Blue Devils Advance to Match Play; Malixi Places Third Individually

Players Mentioned

Anna Cañado Espinal

Katie Li

Rianne Malixi

Avery McCrery

Andie Smith

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Blue Devils Advance to Match Play; Malixi Places Third Individually

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Players Mentioned

Anna Cañado Espinal

Katie Li

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Avery McCrery

Andie Smith

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