NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After a four-month hiatus, the No. 8 Notre Dame men’s golf team returns to action, kicking off the spring season in Puerto Rico. The Fighting Irish will compete in the inaugural Dorado Beach Collegiate, hosted by UNC-Greensboro. The 13-team tournament will run Feb. 23-25 at the TPC Dorado Beach-Sugarcane Course.
Fans can follow the live scoring on Golfstat.com.
IN THE CLUBHOUSE
The Irish used the month of January training for the impending spring season, taking several weekend trips south to play on some of the nicest courses in the country, including trips to Augusta National, along with notable courses in Florida.
“The guys have been working hard. Pretty much every guy has played in a tournament or two over this break, in order to try to keep things rolling after everything that we did this fall. I feel that we are ready,” Notre Dame head coach John Handrigan stated.
Notre Dame was the first golf program in the country to win four tournament titles this past fall. The previous program record for titles in a season, let alone the fall, was three. The Irish also achieved their first Golfweek top-10 ranking in the process. Notre Dame will be looking to carry that momentum, and more, into a challenging spring slate and the ACC Championships.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Joining the Irish in the Dorado Beach Collegiate will be: Kansas, Army, Kentucky, Indiana, Boston College, Coastal Carolina, Kansas State, Louisville, VCU, Rutgers, Michigan State and host UNCG.
IRISH FIVE
Coach Handrigan will be traveling his entire nine-man roster this weekend. Last fall, Coach Handrigan ran with the same five-man lineup throughout: Palmer Jackson, Davis Lamb, Davis Chatfield, Andrew O’Leary and Hunter Ostrom.
Palmer Jackson collected three top-10 finishes in the fall, including the individual title at the Quail Valley Collegiate. Thus, Jackson is inserting his name as a viable candidate for the Phil Mickelson Award, which acknowledges the top freshman golfer in the country.
However, he wasn’t the only Irish golfer with three top-10’s. Senior Hunter Ostrom achieved a runner-up finish at the Badger Invitational and a third-place showing at the Windon Memorial.
“I think that it is important to provide opportunities for every player on our team and that is what we are doing with this first event. I think that we have a very deep lineup,” Handrigan added.
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