Chris Walker leads the way for the Irish after day one of the All-American Intercollegiate, sitting at one under (143) after 36 holes of play.

Irish 13th After First Day Of All-American Intercollegiate

April 9, 2012

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team finds itself alone in 13th place after Monday’s action at the All-American Intercollegiate at The Woodlands Country Club. The squad fired a 36-hole total of 591 (+15) to sit 35 strokes off the lead.

After posting a morning round score of 295 (+7), the Irish followed with a 296 (+8) during their afternoon round. Arkansas leads the field outright with a score of 556 (-20) with North Texas (560, -16) and Texas A&M (562, -14) following in second and third, respectively. The Aggies’ Geoff Shaw leads the individual field with a score of 136 (-8).

Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas), in his return to his hometown, took to the tee for the Irish as the anchor of the lineup for the first time on the season. In his morning round, the Irish senior started on the eighth hole, playing his first 10 holes at three-over par before closing at three-under par over his final eight holes. During that run, Walker carded birdies on four holes to go along with only one bogey. Overall, he led the Irish on the morning with an opening round 72 (E).

He matched that with an equally productive afternoon round that saw him finish one under (71). During his second 18 holes, Walker marked down three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars. Overall, Walker is tied for 20th at one under par (143).

Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) enjoyed a steady morning round, finishing with a 74 (+2). The junior carded a team-leading 12 pars on his opening 18 holes, while also marking down two birdies to offset four bogeys. His afternoon round got off to a ferocious start, aided by five birdies with only one bogey to play his opening nine at four under (-4). McNamara then finished his second nine in 39 strokes (+3) to finish the round one under (71). He is tied for 33rd after the first day of play with a 145 (+1).

Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) continued to be steady for the Irish lineup, finishing with an opening round 73 (+1). On the round, the senior posted 10 pars to go along with four birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. He struggled in the afternoon, carding only two birdies to go along with two bogeys, two double bogeys and 12 pars, good for a 76 (+4). Overall, Scodro shares 58th place at five over (149).

Sophomore Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) got off to a shaky start to his tournament, recording bogey or worse on five of his first seven holes. He would settle down over the remainder of his round, however, carding four birdies and six pars over the last 11 holes to finish the round with a 76 (+4). During the afternoon, Platt marked down two birdies to go along with six bogeys, one double bogey and nine pars to post the final score to the team total with a 78 (+6). On the day, Platt finished tied for 73rd with a 154 (+10).

Tom Usher (Baildon, England) did not count toward the team score in the morning, finishing the round with a 78 (+6). The senior sat at only two over par after 15 holes of play, but finished with a pair of double bogeys over the final three holes to close out his opening round. He also failed to count to the team total in the afternoon, finishing with an 82 (+10). With his 36 hole score of 160 (+16), Usher is tied for 80th.

Notre Dame concludes its tournament Tuesday with the final round of play at the 2012 All-American Intercollegiate. The Irish begin off of the 10th tee with the first tee time scheduled to go off at 9:27 a.m. (ET). Live stats can be followed via Golfstat.com and be sure to check back with UND.com for a complete recap of the Irish.

–ND–