Oct. 5, 2014
NORMAN, Okla. — It’s doubtful advertising executives had Talia Campbell or the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team in mind when they devised their slogan for the soup that shares a surname with the Fighting Irish junior golfer. But like the famous catchphrase, Notre Dame’s team performance and Campbell’s individual effort on Sunday afternoon could be summed up in three words:
“Mmm, mmm, good.”
Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) used five birdies to tie the school’s single-round record by firing a career-low four-under par 66, sparking Notre Dame to the lowest single-round score in program history (277, -3) as the Fighting Irish held steady in seventh place at seven-over par 567 (290-277) following the second round of the Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club (par 70/6,001 yards) in Norman, Oklahoma.
Mississippi State leads the 17-team tournament at 10-under par 550, while Notre Dame is part of a group of six teams separated by six strokes in places 2-7. The Fighting Irish, who came into the tournament ranked 32nd in the first Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ratings, currently are ahead of three teams ranked in the top 30 — No. 8 LSU (lead by four shots), No. 20 UCF (lead by five shots) and No. 26 Florida State (lead by 12 shots) — with Clemson joining FSU as the other Atlantic Coast Conference teams besides Notre Dame competing in this weekend’s tournament (Clemson is presently 20 shots behind the Fighting Irish).
“We really had it going today, and to be honest, it could have been even better had we not given back a couple of shots coming in,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “We needed to keep up with the kind of competition we’re facing, and we did that by getting solid contributions from all five players.”
“It was great to have the entire team post some good scores so we could pick up some strokes and stay competitive,” Campbell added.
With the Schooner Fall Classic being played at the par-70 Belmar Golf Club, both Notre Dame records reflect the lowest gross score in the school record books, although each mark also is among the six lowest single-round scores relative to par in Fighting Irish annals.
One of four teams in the field to shoot under par on Sunday, Notre Dame capitalized on ideal conditions to card 17 birdies and finish in red numbers for the sixth time in the program’s 27-year history, tying its third-lowest single-round score behind only a seven-under par total (281) in the second round at the 2008 Heather Farr Memorial and a six-under par score (282) in the third round of the 2013 BIG EAST Conference Championship.
In the Fighting Irish individual record books, Campbell’s 66 matched totals by Lisa Maunu at the 2007 Cougar Classic and So-Hyun Park at the 2008 Heather Farr Memorial. Both Maunu and Park shot six-under par scores, while three other players carded five-under par rounds, and most recently, Kristina Nhim fired a four-under par 68 in the first round of the 2014 Clover Cup.
“Talia is playing really solid golf,” Holt said. “She’s been so consistent with her ball-striking and has given herself lots of opportunities to make birdies.”
“I was able to be very efficient tee to green and managed to get some putts to fall,” Campbell noted. “It always helps when you’re able to get off to a good start (with three birdies on the front nine). I know we are all looking forward to continuing our momentum over to tomorrow’s round.”
Campbell and senior teammate Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) are among a group tied for 11th place in the 91-player field at even-par 140 through two rounds of the Schooner Fall Classic — Campbell shot rounds of 74 and 66, while Oride has posted scores of 69 and 71. Oride picked up where she left off during Saturday’s opening round with a pair of birdies to make the turn at two-under par 34, but backed up a bit with three bogeys on the back nine, including her final two holes.
Mississippi State’s Ally McDonald is the 36-hole individual leader at the Schooner Fall Classic, carding a six-under par 134. Campbell and Oride will go into Monday’s final round among 17 players within six shots of the lead.
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) continues to show excellent growth this weekend with her second consecutive round of 71, tying her for 22nd place at two-over par 142. Bellville displayed good composure to rebound from the team’s only double bogey of the day (on No. 4), coming back with birdies on No. 9 and No. 14 before giving a stroke back with a bogey on the 17th hole.
Senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) and sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) also delivered solid performances on Sunday and are tied for 58th place after 36 holes at seven-over par 147, although both reached that number in different ways.
Ferreira had a rough opening nine holes on Sunday with four bogeys, including three in a row from Nos. 5-7. However, she flipped the script on the back nine with three birdies to come home with a 71, following Saturday’s first-round 76.
Meanwhile, Armstrong stormed from the gate on Sunday, reeling off three consecutive birdies to open her round. The veteran then had to grind out the remainder of her afternoon, fighting off three bogeys with one more birdie for a second-round 69, tying the second-lowest round of Armstrong’s career and lowest since a similar 69 at the 2013 Mary Fossum Invitational.
“Ashley played much better today,” Holt said. “Her putting was much improved from day one and that was the difference, because her ball-striking has always been there.”
Notre Dame will wrap up play in the Schooner Fall Classic at 8:30 a.m. CT (9:30 a.m. ET) Monday, with live scoring available through the BirdieFire web site.
“We’re going to need to keep this going tomorrow so we can have a strong finish,” Holt said. “The course is giving up low scores and we have to come out with the mindset of making birdies.”
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Schooner Fall Classic
Oct. 5, 2014 — Second Round
Belmar Golf Club (par 70/6,001 yards)
Norman, Okla.
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. Mississippi State 550 (277-273); 2. Kent State 561 (287-274); 3. Arkansas 562 (290-272); 4. Texas A&M 564 (283-281); 5. (tie) California 566 (285-281) and SMU 566 (282-284); 7. NOTRE DAME 567 (290-277); 8. LSU 571 (283-288); 9. UCF 572 (292-280); 10. Baylor 573 (293-280); 11. Texas Tech 576 (294-282); 12. Florida State 579 (293-286); 13. (tie) Texas State 580 (298-282) and TCU 580 (296-284); 15. Texas 582 (295-287); 16. (tie) Clemson 587 (295-292) and Oklahoma 587 (296-291).
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 91): 1. Ally McDonald (MSU) 134 (67-67); 2. (tie) Hayley Davis (BU) 135 (70-65) and Jessica Peng (MSU) 135 (67-68); 4. (tie) Maddie Szeryk (TAMU) 136 (70-66), Jenny Haglund (SMU) 136 (70-66) and Hannah Suh (CAL) 136 (69-67); 7. (tie) Raksha Phadke (KSU) 137 (72-65), Marthe Wold (CAL) 137 (70-67) and Regina Plasencia (UA) 137 (71-66); 10. Madelene Sagstrom (LSU) 138 (68-70); 11. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 140 (74-66) and Kelli Oride (ND) 140 (69-71); 22. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 142 (71-71); 58. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 147 (78-69) and Jordan Ferreira (ND) 147 (76-71).
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