Duke women’s golf has a trio of names on the Women’s Golf Coaches Association’s first fall watch lists, with head coach Dan Brooks, sophomore Rianne Malixi and freshman Mia Hammond all earning recognition Tuesday.
Brooks landed on the East Region watch list for the Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year Presented by Golf Pride. Malixi was placed on the PING WGCA Player of the Year watch list, and Hammond was selected for the WGCA Freshman of the Year Presented by StrackaLine watch list.
The inaugural fall lists were created to spotlight Division I coaches and players for what they did during the collegiate season’s opening stretch. Malixi is one of 11 golfers on the player of the year list, while Hammond is among six freshmen honored.
Brooks’ case is built on another strong Duke fall in his 43rd season. The Blue Devils finished in the top three in all four of their tournaments, a run that included back-to-back wins at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational and the Landfall Tradition. Duke also took third at the Folds of Honor Collegiate and tied for second at the Windy City Collegiate Classic.
That stretch left Duke sitting No. 4 in the Oct. 29 Scoreboard powered by Clippd rankings. The Landfall win gave Brooks the 147th tournament title of his career, and the consecutive victories marked the program’s first since October 2018.
Malixi, from Manila, Philippines, was Duke’s most consistent scorer in the fall. She posted a 69.56 stroke average across nine rounds, with five scores in the 60s, eight rounds of even par or better and a team-high 43 birdies. Every one of her nine rounds counted toward the Blue Devils’ team total.
She also backed up the rankings with results. Malixi entered the Oct. 29 individual rankings at No. 3 nationally after finishing second at the Tar Heel Invitational and then winning the Landfall Tradition by nine shots.
In Chapel Hill, she carded rounds of 69, 67 and 69 for an 8-under-par 205. At Wilmington, she went 68, 64 and 72 for a 12-under-par 204, and that second-round 64 set a Landfall Tradition record while delivering her second collegiate individual title.
Hammond wasted no time making her mark in Durham. In her Duke debut, the New Albany, Ohio, native shared medalist honors at the Folds of Honor Collegiate after shooting 70, 71 and 69 for a 6-under-par 210.
She finished the fall with a 71.67 stroke average over 12 rounds, adding four scores in the 60s and seven rounds of even par or better. Hammond also tied for fourth at the Tar Heel Invitational with a 5-under-par 208, highlighted by a season-best 67 in the final round. She was No. 22 in the Oct. 29 individual rankings.
Duke is done for the fall and will return Jan. 25-26 at the Sea Best Intercollegiate in Jacksonville, Florida.
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