Holden native Drew Powell is going to be spending a lot of time on the golf course this summer.
The former Bangor High School golf standout in January transferred from Brown University to Duke University and is hoping to crack the Duke lineup next spring.
Powell, 20, finished fourth in last weekend’s Downeast Metro Amateur Golf Tournament held in Bar Harbor and Bangor. He shot a 6-over-par 147.
“I’m going to play in a lot of tournaments and work on my game,” Powell said.
Powell said he didn’t play in any of the main tournaments this spring at Duke, but he did play in several others.
“I didn’t play very well this spring, to be honest,” Powell said. “Next year, I should be in the lineup.”
The Blue Devils finished 25th at the NCAA Division I championship after placing second in the NCAA Regional. Duke tied for fourth at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Powell had an impressive freshman season at Brown.
He shot 232 to finish 24th at the eight-team Ivy League championships in the spring of 2018. Last fall, he had a scoring average of 71.55 through four tournaments at Brown before transferring.
“I loved Brown but, for golf, it was so cold, and it’s in the city so it’s tough to get to golf courses easily. It’s just not ideal to work on your game,” Powell said.
Durham, North Carolina, is a completely different story.
“I played tons at Duke. In January, the coldest it got was 45 degrees, so you could play every day,” Powell said.
“It’s great to be able to work on your game as much as you want because they have the facilities to help you do that. It’s fantastic,” he said.
He said there was definitely a transition period adjusting to a more rigorous golf approach.
“It’s a more intense program. But it was great, and I have two more years,” Powell said.
Duke golf coach Jamie Green said Powell is a great fit for his program.
“He has a lot of talent and the ability to shoot low numbers,” Green said. “I love his speed with his driver.”
Green noted that Powell is able to focus on each shot and block out any distractions and he has been impressed with Powell’s work ethic and determination.
“He made good use of our facilities,” Green said.
He added that Powell is well liked by his coaches and teammates, and he expects him to be in the lineup next season.
“Nobody is guaranteed anything. But he’s a competitor. There are lots of spots available,” said Green, who likes the fact Powell is playing an ambitious schedule this summer that should prepare him for the fall season.
Powell won the Class A individual state championship in 2014 when he was at Bangor High and finished third in the Maine Amateur Championship that same year.
He was an American Junior Golf Association Scholastic All-American in 2015 after posting two top-15 finishes in AJGA Open tournaments.
In 2016, while attending the Taft School in Connecticut, he won the Founders League championship and set records with an eight-stroke victory behind a 6-under 65.