Date: February 23, 2010
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Whitaker second after Round 1 in Arizona

Golf Australia National Squad member Alison Whitaker registered a two-under-par, 69, on Monday and sits in second place, individually, at the Wildcat Invitational, which is being played at the 6,146-yard, Par 71 Arizona National Golf Club. Whitaker, who is a native of Melbourne, Australia, is one shot off leader Taylore Karle of Pepperdine (68). The tournament was cut down to 18 holes on Monday and Tuesday due to inclement weather. The teams were originally scheduled to play 36 holes on Monday. “Alison has a fantastic attitude and that is what you are seeing there,” said Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks. “When you play well in rough weather, it is all about attitude. I am not surprised that she is the one who pulled it out when the weather gets rough.” After opening her round on hole six, Whitaker registered two pars and then notched birdies on consecutive birdies on holes eight and nine. Over the next nine holes, she had one birdie on No. 16, two bogies and six pars before closing her round with a one-under-par ledger during the final five holes. As a team, Duke is fifth after 18 holes with a score of 296. The Blue Devils netted a total of 12 birdies on the day. Arizona State leads with a 290, while Stanford (293), Arizona (294), Pepperdine (295), Duke (296), New Mexico (301), California (302), Denver (304), Oklahoma State (304) and Tennessee (307) rounded out the top 10. “I thought we dealt [with the bad weather] with it ok,” said Brooks. “A 69 for Whitaker and anytime you have Lindy Duncan, who had a rough round — it is very unlikely for her to do that twice. She is a tough player and she would have gotten it together in the second round, but we didn&apost get to find that out [today]. I felt like everyone was geared up and ready to play. We are ok after the first round.” Freshman Courtney Ellenbogen finished the day with a 74, which included 16 pars, one bogey and a double-bogey on her final hole. She enters the final round tied for 13th overall. Kim Donovan (76), Duncan (77) and Stacey Kim (77) rounded out the Blue Devils in action on day one.