April 4, 2003
Laredo, Texas – The Notre Dame men’s golf team ventured into Texas this weekend to participate in the 52nd annual Border Olympics, hosted by Texas A&M. The Irish shot two of their better rounds of the spring – 302 and 297 – but their 599 total for 36 holes puts them 19th in the 20 team field. The Irish are 34 strokes behind tourney leader, Arkansas, as the Razorbacks shot an 11-under par 565 (276-289) at the par 72, 7,125-yard Laredo Country Club.
Arkansas takes a seven-stroke lead over San Diego State into Saturday’s final 18 holes of play. The Aztecs shot a 572 (288-284) in Friday’s opening rounds. Baylor University is third, 10 strokes behind Arkansas with a 575 total after rounds of 285 and 290. Brigham Young and Lamar round out the top five as they are tied for fourth with 577 totals. BYU shot rounds of 291 and 286 while Lamar had rounds of 289 and 288 for the opening 36 holes.
Individually, freshman Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.) is Notre Dame’s top golfer as he is tied for 24th in the 100-player field. Deutsch was four strokes off the lead after his opening round of three-under par 72, but shot a second round 76 for his one-over par 145. He is 10 strokes behind the tournament leader, Lamar’s Mark Van Hoose, who is seven-under par at 135.
Van Hoose delivered rounds of 69 and 66 for his first day of action. He will take a one-stroke lead into Saturday’s final round of play as he leads Arkansas’ Andrew Dahl who shot 65-71 for a 136 total. Lars Johansson of San Diego is third, two strokes behind with a 137 (70-67). Baylor’s Ryan Baca is fourth with a 139 (71-68) and three golfers are tied for fifth at four-under par 140. In all, 23 golfers will go into the final 18 holes at par or better.
For Notre Dame, freshman Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.) follows Deutsch as he is tied for 54th with a five-over par 149 after rounds of 79 and 70. Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) is tied for 73rd with a 152 (76-76), senior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) is tied for 82nd with a 10-over par 154 (79-75) and Tommy Balderston (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) rounds out the Irish contingent as he is tied for 88th with a 157 after rounds of 78 and 79.
Saturday’s final round of play at the Laredo Country Club will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST with a shotgun start.
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Arkansas 276-289-565; 2. San Diego State 288-284-572; 3. Baylor 285-290-575; t4. Brigham Young 291-286-577; Lamar 289-288-577; t6. Kansas State 288-293-581; Colorado State 297-284-581; Texas A&M 286-295-581; 9. Southern Methodist 287-295-582; 10. Alabama-Birmingham 288-296-584; 11. Rhode Island 295-292-587; t12. Iowa State 295-293-588; Texas-San Antonio 292-296-588; 14. Texas-Arlington 300-290-590; 15. Rice 300-292-592; 16. Washington State 309-286-595; 17. Texas Tech 295-301-596; 18. Southwest Texas St. 297-301-598; 19. Notre Dame 302-297-599; 20. Louisiana-Lafayette 294-316-610.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 100): 1. Mark Van Hoose (Lamar) 69-66-135; 2. Andrew Dahl (Arkansas) 65-71-136; 3. Lars Johansson (San Diego St.) 70-67-137; 4. Ryan Baca (Baylor) 71-68-139; t5. Stephen Reed (Texas A&M) 70-70-140; Adam Wing (Arkansas) 69-71-140; Greg Machtaler (Brigham Young) 69-71-140; t8. Martin Laird (Colorado State) 75-66-141; Nicholas Loar (Southern Methodist) 69-72-141; Drew Dalziel (Iowa State) 71-70-141; Oscar Alvarez (Brigham Young) 71-70-141.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 100): t24. Eric Deutsch 69-76-145; t54. Mark Baldwin 79-70-149; t73. Scott Gustafson 76-76-152; t82. Brandon Lunke 79-75-154; t88. Tommy Balderston 78-79-157.