Blue Devils Travel West to Compete in NCAA Regional – Duke University

2024 NCAA Cle Elum Regional
May 6-8, 2024  •  Cle Elum, Wash.
Tumblecreek Club
54 Holes Stroke Play; Top 5 to NCAA Championship
 
BLUE DEVILS TRAVEL WEST TO COMPETE IN NCAA REGIONAL
       For the first time in Duke’s 32-year history of playing in the NCAA Regionals, the Blue Devil women’s golf program will travel to the state of Washington to compete in the Cle Elum Regional at Tumblecreek Club in Cle Elum, Wash., May 6-8. 
       Duke is set to compete in its 31st-consecutive NCAA Regional and feature 10 regional titles over school history under head coach Dan Brooks. 
       The Blue Devils, who are currently listed at No. 11 in the most recent Scoreboard rankings, will be joined in the regional along with Stanford (1), Arizona State (13), Virginia (24), San Jose State (25), Washington (35), Alabama (37), Virginia Tech (48), Kansas (49), Long Beach State (76), Sacramento State and Seattle University. The teams are listed in seed order and the rankings in parentheses are from the Scoreboard team rankings.
       Duke will tee off Monday, May 6 at 12:00 p.m. (ET) off hole No. 1 along with Stanford and Arizona State.  Tee times for Tuesday and Wednesday will be determined by standings beginning at 12 p.m., or 12:55 p.m. (ET).

       The regional will be a three-day, 54-hole tournament with 18 holes played each day. The top five teams and top individual (not on one of those five teams) advance to the NCAA Championship to be played May 17-22 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. 
      
COVERAGE
       Fans will be able to follow the action with live scoring at www.GolfStat.com.  Golf Channel will deliver expanded coverage of the final day of the NCAA regional championship, Wednesday, May 8. Coverage will feature updates throughout the day that will be published to Golf Channel Digital and through Golf Channel social media handles, concluding with live news segments announcing the teams and individuals who qualified for the national championship.
       Everyone can also follow along on Twitter (@DukeWGOLF), Instagram (DukeWGolf) and Facebook as well.
 
THE DUKE LINEUP
       Duke will feature a lineup of graduate student Emma McMyler, seniors Phoebe Brinker and Anne Chen, sophomore Andie Smith and freshman Katie Li.  Junior Rylie Heflin will be a substitute.   
      
BIRDIES FOR BABIES
       Spearheaded by 2019 Blue Devil graduate Virginia Elena Carta, the Duke men’s and women’s golf programs have continued their fundraising program benefitting the Duke Children’s Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units called Birdies for Babies. Duke has raised $12,333.45 so far this season and over the seven years of the program, it has raised $120,136.95.
       In November of 2023, the Duke Children’s Hospital dedicated a room for the program since the Blue Devils reached the $100,000 mark in earnings. 
       Those looking to support the partnership with the Duke Children’s can make pledges per birdie. Pledges will start at $0.50 and high pledge increments are welcome. If the Blue Devils register an eagle (counts as two birdies), albatross (three birdies) and hole-in-one (four birdies) they will count as stated.
       For more information, head to https://giving.dukechildrens.org/ways-to-give/duke-athletics-partnerships 
 
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
       Duke is currently ranked No. 11 in the latest Scoreboard golf rankings, while also being No. 11 in the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) ledger. 
       Individually, in the Scoreboard rankings five Blue Devils are ranked in the top 116 — Emma McMyler (50), Katie Li (72),  Phoebe Brinker (99), Andie Smith (103) and Anne Chen (116).
 
TRENDS/NOTES
    •  Over Duke’s history of playing in the NCAA Regionals, it will mark the first time the Blue Devils have bene sent to the state of Washington.  The furthest Duke had previously been sent away from home was Albuquerque, N.M., in 2017.  The Blue Devils did win the 2002 NCAA Championship in Auburn, Wash.
    •  The Blue Devils head to the state of Washington for the first time since the 2002 campaign when Duke won its second NCAA Championship in Auburn, Wash. 
    • Senior Anne Chen owns a career-best 72.46 stroke average this season with three top-10 finishes.  She had six top-10 placements her first three years at Duke. 
    • Graduate student Emma McMyler has made an immediate impact with the Blue Devils in 2023-24.  She leads the squad with a 71.67 stroke average and owns a tied for team-best 15 rounds of even or under par. 
    • As a team, Duke has posted a 4.83 scoring average and is 78-under-par on par-5 holes this season.
    • Sophomore Andie Smith owns a team-best six rounds in the 60s and ranks second on the team with 14 rounds of even or under par.  She has dropped her average putts from 32.0 as a rookie to a team-best 31.1 this season.  Smith is one of only 11 freshmen or sophomore in Duke history to notch six or more rounds in the 60s in a season — Ana Belac (9 in 2017-18), Jaravee Boonchant (6 in 2017-18), Leona Maguire (10 in 2014-15), Celine Boutier (8 in 2013-14), Lindy Duncan (6 in 2010-11), Amanda Blumenherst (8 in 2006-07), Brittany Lang (7 in 2004-05), Liz Janangelo (7 in 2003-04), Brittany Lang (8 in 2003-04) and Liz Janangelo (6 in 2002-03). 
    • In the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings, Emma McMyler (83), Phoebe Brinker (105), Katie Li (118), Anne Chen (217) and Andie Smith (246) are listed.  Duke’s recruiting class of Anna Canado Espinal (154) and Carla De Troia (841) will join the squad in August. 
 
BROOKS HEADS BACK WEST
       Duke head coach Dan Brooks will head back west with the Blue Devils when they travel to Washington for the NCAA Regionals.  Brooks is a native of Baker City, Ore., and played collegiate golf at Oregon State.  He graduated from OSU in 1981. 
       Baker City is approximately four and a half hours from Cle Elum, Wash. 
 
GOING LOW THIS SPRING
       In four tournaments this spring, the Blue Devils have totaled a 72.86 stroke average and have been led by Andie Smith (71.44), Emma McMyler (71.83), Katie Li (72.42) and Anne Chen (73.00). 
 
IMPRESSIVE FRESHMAN
       Duke rookie Katie Li has turned in an impressive freshman campaign with the Blue Devils.
       Li is currently ranked No. 72 nationally and is the second-highest ACC freshman ranked in the Scoreboard listing behind Wake Forest’s Macy Pate (44). 
       A product of Basking Ridge, N.J., Li is the only ACC rookie to win a tournament and one of only six freshmen nationally in the top 70 of the rankings that have won a tournament — Maria Jose Marin (Arkansas), Kiara Romero (Oregon), Farah O’Keefe (Texas), Molly Smith (Central Florida) and Lauren Kim (Texas).
       Li currently features the seventh-best single-season stroke average for a rookie in Duke history (72.67), is tied for ninth on the freshmen list with 13 rounds of even or under par and is one of 16 rookies in Blue Devil history to win a tournament.
 
BLUE DEVILS IN THE 60S
       Duke currently features five golfers who have shot 68 or better in a round this season — Emma McMyler, Anne Chen, Katie Li, Andie Smith and Phoebe Brinker. 
       The Blue Devils have featured this only four other times in Duke history –2018-19 (Jaravee Boonchant, Ana Belac, Gina Kim, Virginia Elena Carta, Miranda Wang), 2013-14 (Celine Boutier, Yu Liu, Laetitia Beck, Sandy Choi, Alejandra Cangrejo), 2005-06 (Amanda Blumenherst, Liz Janangelo, Anna Grzebien, Jennie Lee, Jennifer Pandolfi), 2003-04 (Liz Janangelo, Brittany Lang, Virada Nirapathpongporn, Leigh Anne Hardin, Anna Grzebien).
       Of the four previous seasons this has taken place, the Blue Devils won the NCAA Championship in three of those — 2018-19, 2013-14 and 2005-06. 
 
TOP STROKE AVERAGE
       The Blue Devils currently feature a 72.86 stroke average heading into NCAA Regional action.  It currently ranks as the fifth-lowest in school history.
 
Lowest Scoring Average in a Season
1. 72.23      2013-14
2. 72.72      2017-18
3. 72.73      2018-19
4. 72.74      2003-04
5. 72.86      2023-24
6. 73.02      2020-21
7. 73.63      2019-20
8. 73.68      2005-06
9. 73.81      2016-17
10.73.88     2012-13
 
AVERAGES
       Go in depth with the Blue Devils to see how many birdies, greens, fairways and putts they average during rounds in 2023-24.
 
                          Birdies    Greens  Fairways Putts
Emma McMyler 3.3          13.7         10.7      31.4
Phoebe Brinker  3.4          13.5          9.9       32.2
Anne Chen          3.2          13.7         11.0      32.1
Andie Smith        3.1          13.2         10.1      31.1
Rylie Heflin         2.5          12.2          9.3       31.8
Katie Li                3.0          12.9         10.0      31.6
 
IN THE RECORD BOOK
       In the Duke career record book, senior Phoebe Brinker is moving up the charts.  She ranks tied for eighth with 49 even or under par rounds and needs three to move into seventh. Brinker ranks 10th in birdies with 319 and needs three to move into ninth.  She also ranks tied for seventh in rounds in the 60s (15) and first in eagles (10). 
       In the Blue Devil freshman single season record books, Katie Li ranks tied for ninth in even or under par rounds (13), seventh in stroke average (72.67) and tied for seventh in wins (1).
 
LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA REGIONALS
       Duke advanced to the NCAA Championship for the 33rd time under head coach Dan Brooks as the Blue Devils carded a 54-hole score of 875 to finish second at the Palm Beach Gardens Regional. 
       The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Championship for the 23rd time out of the last 26 years under Brooks.  It marked the 17th time the Blue Devils have placed in the top-2 at a NCAA Regional.
       Local product Andie Smith placed fourth overall with a 1-under, 215, over three days and closed the regional with nine birdies and a 3-under, 69.  Smith became just the seventh Duke freshman to place in the top-4 at a NCAA Regional.  Phoebe Brinker shot 4-under-par over the final day’s round and placed tied for ninth with a 218, while Erica Shepherd was tied for 14th with a 219. 
 
BLUE DEVILS IN THE NCAA’S
       This marks the 31st consecutive year there has been a regional system for women’s golf. Duke has advanced to nationals 26 of the last 29 times, finishing in the top four of the regional in 24 of the 26 years the squad has advanced. 
       Duke has posted five individual medalists at the regionals as Beth Bauer won the East Regional in 1999 after shooting 74-70-71=215, Virada Nirapathpongporn won in 2001 with a 65-73-71=209, Leigh Anne Hardin won in 2002 with rounds of 71-67-72=210, Anna Grzebien won in 2005 with rounds of 73-69-67=209 and Leona Maguire won in 2015 with rounds of 72-78-72=212.  
 
NCAA REGIONAL TITLES
       Duke owns 10 NCAA Regional titles over school history, which ranks second all-time in NCAA action.  Southern California owns 14 titles, while Duke (10), UCLA (8), Arizona (6), Georgia (6), Stanford (6), Arizona State (5) and South Carolina (5) have won five or more regional championships.
       The Blue Devils have won regional titles in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2018.
 
NCAA REGIONAL EXPERIENCE
       Duke will travel a team that features four golfers that have  experience playing in the NCAA Regionals.  Phoebe Brinker and Anne Chen will all see action in their fourth NCAA Regional since the NCAAs were canceled in 2020.  Andie Smith will play in her second straight.  Emma McMyler competed in three NCAA Regionals with Xavier and finished no lower than tied for ninth in all three. 
       In 2023 at the NCAA Westfield Regional, McMyler placed tied for ninth with rounds of 71, 70 and 70 for a 5-under, 211.  As a sophomore in 2022, she tied for ninth at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional with a 216.  McMyler also tied for seventh at the NCAA Louisville Regional in 2021 with a 1-under, 215. 
       Chen turned in a tied for 29th ledger with rounds of 73, 75 and 76 for a 224 in 2021, then tied for 11th in 2022 with rounds of 71, 70 and 73 for a 2-under, 214.  Last year, she tied for 53rd at the Palm Beach Regional (78-79-76=233).  Brinker was tied for 33rd with scores of 74, 75 and 76 for a 225 in 2021, tied for 21st in 2022 with rounds of 73, 74 and 72 for a 219 and tied for ninth in 2023 in Palm Beach with rounds of 78, 71, 69 for a 2-over, 218. 
       In her first appearance last year, Smith posted scores of 73, 73 and 69 for a 1-under, 215, to place fourth.  She also netted her first collegiate hole-in-one as well in her home state of Florida. 
 
BLUE DEVILS FINISH FIFTH AT ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
       The Duke women’s golf team turned in a valiant effort in the final round of stroke play at the ACC Championship, but came up just short of advancing to match play at the 6,142-yard, par-72 Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C.
       Duke carded a 7-under-par, 281, in the third round and finished the championship with a 2-over, 866, but was one stroke behind North Carolina (865) for the fourth and final slot in match play.  Wake Forest (841), Clemson (848) and Virginia (856) claimed the other three spots in match play.  The Blue Devils’ final round of 281 was the second-best ledger of the day.
       Over the 54 holes, the Blue Devils featured three golfers finish in the top-20 with Andie Smith (T13, 214), Emma McMyler (T17, 216) and Phoebe Brinker (T20, 217).  Brinker totaled her third straight top-20 finish at the ACC Championship.
       The first two days of the event was a challenge for Duke as the Blue Devils posted a 294 and 291 and had too much of a hole to dig themselves out of. 
 
DUKE WINS FLORIDA STATE MATCH UP; LI TAKES INDIVIDUAL CROWN
       Duke carded the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history with a 30-under-par, 834, and freshman Katie Li won her first collegiate tournament with a 12-under, 204, to close the FSU Match Up at the 6,250-yard, par-72 Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla.
       The Blue Devils registered rounds of 281, 264 and 289 for a tournament-record, 30-under, 834, to win by 10 strokes over host Florida State.  It marked the second win of the season for Duke and the 30-under, 834, were both tournament records.
       Li carded rounds of 66, 66 and 72 for a 12-under-par, 204, to win by three strokes.  The 204 was tied for the third-lowest 54-hole score in Duke history on a par-72 course and became the first Blue Devil freshman to win a tournament since Gina Kim in 2018-19.  Li is the 16th freshman to win an event in Duke history.
       Duke finished the event with four golfers in the top 13 – Li (1st), Emma McMyler (T9), Anne Chen (T9) and Andie Smith (T13).
 
DUKE STORMS BACK TO WIN LANDFALL TRADITION
       Heading into the final round of the Landfall Tradition, Duke trailed by four strokes, but the Blue Devils caught fire Sunday to collect a school-record tying 17-under-par, 271, to win the event for the fourth time in school history. 
       Duke turned in rounds of 286, 286 and 271 to finish with a 21-under, 843.  The Blue Devils finished in a tie for first along with Clemson, but Duke won the team title by virtue of a tiebreaker (fifth player’s third round score). 
       All six Blue Devils that hit the course on Sunday shot under par – Anne Chen (8-under, 64), Phoebe Brinker (4-under, 68), Emma McMyler (3-under, 69), Katie Li (2-under, 70), Andie Smith (2-under, 70) and Rylie Heflin (2-under, 70). 
       Duke and Clemson finished with an 843, while UCF (844), Arizona (855) and Alabama (856) rounded out the top five teams at the 6,194-yard, par-72 Country Club of Landfall Pete Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C.
 
BROOKS IN 40TH SEASON; DUKE CELEBRATES 50TH
       The 2023-24 edition of Duke women’s golf is a special one as the Blue Devils’ compete in the 50th overall season in Durham, while head coach Dan Brooks embarks on his 40th season leading Duke women’s golf. 
       One of the winningest programs in NCAA history, the Blue Devils have risen to new heights under the direction of Brooks, winning an NCAA-record seven NCAA Championships, 21 ACC Championships and a NCAA-record 143 team wins. 
       At least one Duke golfer has been tabbed a first, second, third or honorable mention All-American each year since the 1991-92 season.   A Duke golfer has earned National Player of the Year accolades a total of 12 times, while four have won the NCAA Individual Championship, 21 have won ACC Individual titles and three have won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. 
       Over the 50 seasons of women’s golf at Duke, the Blue Devils have won seven NCAA Championships, 22 ACC Championships, registered 153 team wins and 117 individual victories under the direction of head coaches Jane Lloyd, Ron Schmid and Brooks. 
 
SEVEN-TIME NCAA CHAMPIONS
       The Duke women’s golf team are seven-time NCAA Champions.  The Blue Devils won their first title in 1999, a second in 2002, third in 2005, fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007, sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2019.  Duke became only the second team along with Arizona State to win three straight national titles (1995-97). 
       Virada Nirapathpongporn (2002), Candy Hannemann (2003), Anna Grzebien (2005) and Virginia Elena Carta (2016) each have won individual titles. The Blue Devils became only the third squad in NCAA history to post the individual champion in two straight years in 2001 and 2002.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils women’s golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “https://goduke.com/news/2024/5/5/DukeWGOLF”.

 

Duke Centennial

In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu