Carson Looney didn’t waste much time making his mark at Duke.
The sophomore from Bethesda, Maryland, won medalist honors Sunday at the 20th annual Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational, carding a 10-under-par 206 to earn his third career collegiate title and his first as a Blue Devil. Looney sealed it with a birdie on his final hole, finishing one shot clear of Georgia Tech’s Andrew Feworn and Georgia Southern’s Morgan Blythe, who tied for second at 9-under 207.
Looney’s tournament was built on firepower. He led the field with 16 birdies and added two eagles, including a second-round surge that put him alone in front after 36 holes. His rounds of 69, 65 and 72 came on the par-72, 7,068-yard Lakeside Course, and his 7-under 65 on Saturday was Duke’s lowest score to par this season.
That victory also kept a streak alive for Duke at this event. The Blue Devils have now produced the individual medalist at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in three straight seasons, with Bryan Kim winning in 2025 and Ethan Evans taking the title in 2024.
Duke finished seventh in the 14-team field at 5-under 859 after rounds of 288, 284 and 287. Host Georgia Tech won the team title at 16-under 848.
The Blue Devils opened Friday with an even-par 288, sitting 11th after the first round. Looney paced the group with a 3-under 69, while Sam Mukherjee and Kim both posted even-par 72s.
After a bogey at the start of his round, Looney answered with four straight birdies and added two more on the front nine to turn in 4-under 32. An eagle on the back nine rounded out his opening-day score.
Saturday was even better. Looney birdied No. 10 to get rolling, picked up three more birdies before the turn, then added another on No.
- He eagled the par-4 fifth and birdied No. 6 to get to 8-under for the day before a bogey at the end left him with a 65.
That round moved him into sole possession of first place at 10-under 134 and helped Duke climb from 11th to a tie for sixth on the team board with a 4-under 284.
Sunday brought a tighter finish. Looney slipped with a double bogey on No. 17 and briefly dropped into second place, but he answered with a birdie at the last to protect the one-stroke win and close with an even-par 72.
Duke also got a lift from freshman Jonathan Weinberg, who fired a 2-under 70 in the final round. It was his first under-par round as a Blue Devil and included five birdies and his first collegiate eagle.
Weinberg and Bryan Kim both tied for 27th at 2-over 218, while Sam Mukherjee was Duke’s second-highest finisher, tying for 21st at 1-over 217. Ollie Mukherjee finished tied for 62nd at 8-over 224.
There were other numbers that told the story of Looney’s week. His 16 birdies were the most in the field and a season high for a Duke golfer.
He also accounted for two of Duke’s three eagles. In par-4 scoring, he was the best in the tournament at 11-under, averaging 3.63 strokes per hole.
Through four events this season, he now leads Duke with 44 birdies and four eagles.
Duke, as a team, ranked second in par-4 scoring at 6-under with a 3.96 average. The Blue Devils also totaled 52 birdies, fifth most in the field, and their three eagles were second most. Junior Ollie Mukherjee led all competitors with 39 pars, the most by a Duke golfer in a tournament this season.
The Blue Devils return to action Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 26-27, at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel Valley, California.
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Manny Diaz pointed to the basics afterward, which fit the way this one slipped away. Duke had chances to make the game tilt its way, but the final stop never came and the missed opportunities inside the scoring area left too much undone in a 24-20 loss. For a team trying to build on the resilience it showed early, the lesson was plain enough: the effort was there, but the execution in the closing stretch still has to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]