DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men’s golf team opens play at the 2007 NCAA Championships on Wednesday, May 30 at 7:20 a.m. on No. 10 at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.. The Blue Devils, seeded 21st overall, are making their third straight NCAA Championship appearance and the 17th in program history. The Blue Devils will be paired with Florida State and Vanderbilt in the first two rounds with second round action for the trio beginning at 12:30 on No. 1 on Thursday. Tee times and pairings for the final two rounds will be determined following the second round of play. The Blue Devils reached the 2007 NCAA Championship with a sixth place finish in the East Regional at the Golf Club of Georgia (May 17-19).
The 2007 NCAA Championship will be played at the Gold Course at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., who also designed the Duke Unviersity Golf Club, the Gold Course was opened in 1963 and plays as a 6,817-yard par 71 with a slope rating of 138.
The Blue Devils enter the 2007 NCAA Championship unranked in the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Poll and 23rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. Junior Michael Schachner (88) and freshman Adam Long (89) are both rated in the top 100 of the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, while Jake Grodzinsky (142) is ranked just inside of the top 150. Michael Quagliano is ranked 159th and Clark Klaasen ranks 228th overall.
Duke’s lineup for the championship will feature senior Jake Grodzinsky (73.4), juniors Michael Schachner (72.8) and Michael Quagliano (73.9), sophomore Clark Klaasen (74.1) and freshman Adam Long (72.9). Grodzinsky, Schachner and Klaasen have been in the lineup for all 11 tournaments this season, while Long has played in 10 straight events after not being in the lineup for the Carpet Capital Collegiate in September. Quagliano, who has been sidelined with a back injury, will be playing in his third spring event.
Four of the five Duke golfers have experience playing in the NCAA Championships. Grodzinsky, Schachner and Quagliano have each played in the last two NCAA Championships, while Klaasen competed in the 2006 NCAA Championship. Klaasen has a 72.8 stroke average in four NCAA Championship rounds, while Grodzinsky has a 73.0 stroke average. Grodzinsky has posted a counting team score in all eight championship rounds. Schachner has a 74.0 stroke average, while Quagliano has a stroke average of 75.4.
The Duke men’s golf program has six top-five team finishes at the NCAA Championship, including a second place showing in 1947. Three Blue Devils have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship, including John Karcher. Karcher fired a four-under 284 (73-74-68-69) at the 1990 NCAA Championship at Innisbrook Resort to finish third overall. Charlie Bolling rebounded from an opening round 78 in the 1981 event to finish eighth. Bolling shot 69-71-70 in the final three rounds to finish with an even-par 288. Ryan Blaum shot a two-under 286 in last year’s tournament to finish tied for 10th overall.
Live updates for the 2007 NCAA Championship can be found at
http://www.golfstat.com, while
http://www.Golfweek.com will provide live streaming video, daily recaps, exclusive interviews and much more from the NCAA finals
