Duke Secures Spot in Final Round of Stroke Play at NCAA Championship

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Seniors Ethan Evans and William Love delivered under-par rounds Sunday to help Duke secure a place in the fourth and final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

The Blue Devils enter Monday in eighth place after 54 holes and are among the top 15 teams advancing to the final round of stroke play on the par-72, 7,538-yard North Course. Following Monday's action, the field will be reduced to the top eight teams for match play competition.

Evans continued his impressive championship performance with a 1-under-par 71, moving up two spots into a tie for 11th place individually at 5-under-par 211 (71-69-71). The senior from Mercer Island, Washington, is one of just six players in the more than 150-man field to post under-par rounds in each of the tournament's first three days.

Love also climbed the leaderboard Sunday, vaulting 11 positions into a tie for 22nd place after carding a 1-under-par 71. The senior sits at 2-under-par 214 (72-71-71) through 54 holes.

As a team, Duke recorded a third-round score of 3-over-par 291. Sophomore Ollie Mukherjee contributed an even-par 72, while senior Daniel Choi added a 5-over-par 77.

One of only eight teams under par through three rounds, Duke enters Monday at 1-under-par 863. The Blue Devils hold a one-shot advantage over ninth-place Oklahoma and sit two strokes ahead of both second-ranked Florida and fourth-ranked Virginia. Top-ranked Auburn leads the 30-team field at 22-under-par through 54 holes.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke began the day in a tie for sixth place and remained comfortably inside the top 15 throughout the round, earning the program's first berth in the fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship since 2018.
Evans collected four birdies over his first 10 holes, then closed his round in dramatic fashion on the 426-yard par-4 ninth hole, holing out his approach shot for eagle to finish at 1-under-par 71.
Love battled through a difficult opening nine that left him 5-over-par for the round before producing one of the day's strongest closing stretches. He carded six birdies on his final nine holes, including birdies on five of his last six, to shoot 6-under-par 30 on the front nine and finish with a 1-under-par 71.
Mukherjee posted his second even-par round of the tournament, providing a steady counting score for the Blue Devils.

NOTES

Duke advanced to the fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2018.
The Blue Devils are one of only eight teams under par through 54 holes.
Evans is one of six players in the championship field with under-par scores in all three rounds.
Evans is tied for first in the field in par-3 scoring at 3-under-par and is tied for third overall with 15 birdies through three rounds.
Love's closing-nine score of 30 included six birdies and three pars.

UP NEXT

Duke returns to action Monday for the fourth and final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The Blue Devils will tee off from the 10th hole beginning at 6:52 a.m. PT.
The top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play will advance to quarterfinal match play competition Tuesday morning.
Babygrande Golf will continue its live video stream throughout the championship, with Monday's coverage airing from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET. GOLF Channel will televise the final portion of Monday's round from 5:30-9:30 p.m. ET. Live scoring is available through Scoreboard powered by Clippd.

For more information on Duke men's golf, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching @DukeMGOLF.

#GoDuke