VERO BEACH, Fla. – The No. 7 Notre Dame men’s golf team made program history on Monday, claiming its fourth tournament victory in just five attempts. The Fighting Irish shot an 821 (-43) at the Quail Valley Collegiate, defeating South Florida to take home the trophy on the final hole.
With Notre Dame and USF deadlocked atop the leaderboard at 42-under par with just the par-four 18th left to play, freshman Palmer Jackson delivered a clutch birdie for the sole tournament championship.
The 2019-20 Irish squad become the first in program history to not only win four tournaments in a season, but also accomplish the feat by the end of the fall slate (The 1999-00 squad won three over the year). The Irish are also the first Division I team to four tournament wins this season.
“We couldn’t be prouder to finish the fall off with a win,” Notre Dame head coach John Handrigan said. “These guys showed a ton of grit keeping their heads down after early success and were never satisfied. In my 20 years of coaching I’ve never been a part of something this impressive. Four wins in five events is unprecedented in college golf.”
Individually, Jackson’s birdie also solidified the individual championship for himself as the Pennsylvania native beat out teammate Taichi Kho and USF’s Albin Bergstrom by two strokes with a 200 (-16) total – setting a new tournament record. His 16-under par also set a new 54-hole program record and marked his first collegiate individual title.
FINAL ROUND
The Irish shot a 274 (-14) over the final round of Quail Valley to fight off USF and Memphis for the win. Notre Dame’s 43-under par shattered the program’s 54-hole scoring record by 21 strokes (previous was 22-under at Quail Valley in 2017-18).
Jackson was the very definition of consistency, recording just one bogey over his first 45 holes of play. Jackson tallied seven birdies on the day to card a 67 (-5).
Davis Chatfield was also huge down the stretch, recording three birdies on a back-nine which also saw the junior go bogey-free. Chatfield tallied a 67 (-4) to finish in 14th place with a 208 (-8).
Hunter Ostrom also provided consistent strong play on Monday with two birdies on the back-half to card a 69 (-3). Ostrom finished in 21st place with a 209 (-7).
Davis Lamb posted his second top-10 finish on the fall after a final round 70 (-2), going two-under on the back-nine. Ultimately, Lamb placed ninth with a 207 (-9).
Next, Andrew O’Leary also finished in the top-25 after recording a 71 (-1) to bring his total to 210 (-6), good for 24th place.
Individual competitor Taichi Kho carded the lowest Irish round on the day with a 66 (-6), marking a new career low. Kho climbed three spots into a tie for second place with a 202 (-14), also a career low. Lastly, Patrick Kelly shot a 75 (+3) over the final round to finish in 45th place with a 215 (-1). Thus, every single Notre Dame golfer finished under par.
ABOUT QUAIL VALLEY COLLEGIATE
The Quail Valley Collegiate took place at the Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Florida. The course was a 7,388-yard par-72. Notre Dame was 1-of-14 teams in the field.
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