Oct. 8, 2016
By Leigh Torbin
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame men’s golf team gets to show off its home Warren Golf Course from Sunday through Tuesday as the Irish play host to the annual Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s are expected as 15 teams and 12 individuals compete for the title.
The Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic enters its 11th year on a heels of a thrilling finish in 2015. Notre Dame and St. Mary’s tied for the best team honors, each shooting a 54-hole score of 850.
Vying for the title in 2016, along with host Notre Dame, is a truly national field of: Ball State, Butler, Eastern Michigan, Georgetown, Illinois State, IUPUI, Nevada, San Diego, Santa Clara, Seattle, Utah State, UTEP, William & Mary and Xavier.
The Schedule
The teams will play 18 holes a day for three straight days, Sunday through Tuesday. The first tee times will be at 8:30 a.m. with players starting their rounds at both the 1st and 10th holes.
Notre Dame’s Lineup
Each of Notre Dame’s 11 players will be in action. In addition to the five whom will count towards the team score, six more will compete as individuals.
1. Miguel Delgado
2. Blake Barens
3. Thomas Steve
4. Davis Lamb
5. Ben Albin
IND. Kevin Conners
IND. Liam Cox
IND. John Felitto
IND. Hunter Ostrom
IND. Matthew Rushton
IND. Jens Verhey
Coach Kubinski’s Thoughts
“We’re thrilled to be hosting our 11th annual FIGC. Given the weather in other areas of the country, Hurricane Matthew, we’re also very blessed to have a beautiful forecast. Certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to those dealing with the terrible fury of Mother Nature.
“Our lineup this week will see the additions of junior Thomas Steve, sophomore Miguel Delgado and freshman Davis Lamb. All three have played very, very well these last few weeks and are ready to go. Blake and Ben have also looked sharp and remain in our starting five.
“We’ve certainly played very well at home, having not lost in over a year now, so we’ll look to keep momentum on our side. The guys are comfortable with the course and we have a good plan in place. We’ll just focus on our execution, stay patient and play our way around the 54 holes.”
The Course
Due to the after-affects of the flood that ravaged South Bend in August, particularly Juday Creek which abuts the course, the Warren Golf Course’s 18th hole has been shortened to a 145-yard par-three. As such, the course will play at 6,713 yards for this weekend’s event at par-70.
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Leigh Torbin, athletics communications associate director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013 and coordinates all media efforts for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball and men’s golf teams. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.