Duke left the 16th annual Rod Myers Invitational with a fourth-place finish, but the Blue Devils made a clear move on the final completed day before weather wiped out the rest of the tournament. The event at Duke University Golf Club was trimmed to 36 holes, and Duke closed at 9-under 567 after rounds of 286 and 281.
UNCG won the 13-team tournament at 20-under, followed by UNCW at 15-under and Harvard at 12-under. Duke’s second-round 281 was its best team score of the event and came after play was suspended Monday afternoon because of weather, then finished Tuesday.
Sophomore Charles Nelson turned in the headliner performance for Duke. Playing as an individual, he tied for sixth at 5-under 139 after a steady even-par 72 and a career-best 5-under 67. His second round featured five birdies and 13 pars, and it marked the best collegiate finish of his career.
Freshman Clark Mason also delivered the strongest result of his young Duke career, tying for 14th at 3-under 141. After opening with a 73, the St. Petersburg, Florida, native shot 68 in the second round and posted six birdies.
Bryan Kim paced Duke’s lineup and matched Mason at 3-under 141, good for a tie for 14th. The senior followed a 1-over 73 with a 4-under 68, including a 5-under stretch on the front nine.
Ollie Mukherjee stayed under par in both rounds and tied for 20th at 2-under 142 after cards of 72 and 70. Carson Looney and Sam Mukherjee each finished tied for 23rd at 1-under 143, with Looney going 71-72 and Mukherjee posting 72-71. John Hiller completed the Duke lineup in a tie for 41st at 2-over 146 after a 71 and a 75.
Jonathan Weinberg and Alexander Weinberg also competed as individuals, finishing at 11-over 155 and 28-over 172, respectively.
A few team numbers stood out beyond the leaderboard. Duke ranked third in the field in both par-4 scoring at 4.01 (+1) and par-5 scoring at 4.70 (-12).
Nelson led the entire field in par-4 scoring at 6-under with a 3.70 average, while Nelson and Mason each finished with 11 birdies, tied for second-most in the tournament. Sam Mukherjee tied for third in the field with 27 pars.
The tournament was shortened from 54 holes to 36, with the third round canceled because of weather. Duke’s 281 in the second round was five strokes better than its opening 286 and matched the third-lowest team score of that round.
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