Oct. 3, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After strong finishes in each of its first two tournaments this fall, the Notre Dame men’s golf team will look to continue its momentum when it participates in the Windon Memorial Classic Monday and Tuesday in Lake Forest, Ill., at the par-71, 6,733-yard Conway Farms Golf Club. The Irish will be appearing in the tournament, which is hosted by Northwestern, for the second consecutive year, having tied for 15th place last year when the event was held in Glenview, Ill., at the North Shore Country Club.
The Teams: This year’s Windon Memorial Classic features a strong 18-team field that also includes five squads that reached the NCAA Championships (including defending national champion California) and nine others that made it to the NCAA regionals. Besides Notre Dame, California and host Northwestern, the other participants are: Duke, Furman, Illinois, Kansas, Kent State, LSU, Minnesota, North Carolina State, North Florida, Oklahoma, Purdue, Richmond, Stanford, Toledo and UC Davis. Last year, Minnesota won the tournament by nine strokes, defeating both Purdue and California with a score of five-under par 859.
Dates and Times: Teams will play the first two rounds (36 holes) on Monday and come back for the final 18 holes on Tuesday. All three rounds will use a shotgun start.
Irish Lineup: Notre Dame will roll out a veteran lineup this week that features four of the five players who represented the Irish at last year’s NCAA Central Regional. Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) has a team-best 73.67 stroke average, following a tie for fourth place at the Notre Dame Invitational & Central Regional Preview on Sept. 17-18. Meanwhile, junior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) is hot on his heels with a 73.83 stroke average and a pair of top-15 finishes this fall. Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) missed the Notre Dame Invitational with an injury, but has healed sufficiently to compete this weekend. He finished tied for 17th place at the season-opening Inverness Intercollegiate and has a sharp 74.60 career stroke average. Junior Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) makes his first appearance in the Irish team lineup this year, after carding an impressive 72.83 stroke average as an individual in two tournaments this fall (winning the John Dallio Invitational at DePaul last week). Freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s) starts his third consecutive tournament for Notre Dame, having registered a 76.00 stroke average in his first two collegiate events.
Irish At The Windon Memorial Classic: This year marks Notre Dame’s second consecutive trip to the Windon Memorial Classic. In 2003, the Irish tied for 15th place in the 17-team field with a score of 45-over par 909 (301-306-302). Gustafson led the Irish with an 11th-place tie at one-over par 217 (72-73-72).
Tournament Results: Results will be available at www.und.com upon completion of each round on both days of the tournament.
In Other Action: While Notre Dame will be competing at the Windon Memorial Classic on Monday and Tuesday, five other Irish golfers are in Muncie, Ind., to compete as individuals at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, hosted by Ball State. Like the Windon, the BSU tournament will feature 36 holes on Monday before the final round on Tuesday, with all three rounds using shotgun starts at the Delaware Country Club in Muncie. The five Notre Dame golfers participating in this tournament will be: junior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep), sophomore Shane Sigsbee (McKinney, Texas/McKinney), senior K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind./Riley), freshman Eddie Peckels (Pinehurst, N.C./Pope John Paul II (Fla.)) and freshman Mike King (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney).
Next For The Irish: Notre Dame will have three more weeks off before heading west for The Nelson Invitational, Oct. 23-24 at the Stanford (Calif.) Golf Course. In the interim, some Irish golfers will head to Tuscola, Ill., on Oct. 11-12 to compete as individuals in the Eastern Illinois Invitational.
— ND —