May 20, 2011
OCALA, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team moved into 10th place after day two of the NCAA Florida Regional on Friday at the Golden Ocala Golf Course. The Irish fired a two-over par (290) score on day two for a 36-hole total of 578 (+2).
“We really had a great round going today,” said Irish head coach Jim Kubinski. “When I saw the scoreboard behind #5, our 14th hole, it showed us in a tie for 2nd at -7 for the day and the tournament, one shot off the lead. I saw the #1 seed and first round leader, Florida was +4 on the day and behind us as they made the turn. I loved our positioning at that point and thought the holes coming in were playable. We just imploded, mixing a couple missed shots with a couple tough breaks. It was disappointing. Yet, we have to remember that we’re still in striking distance and everything we did for 14 holes today we can carry through 18 holes tomorrow. We’re capable of putting it together tomorrow.”
Notre Dame’s 36-hole score of 578 is the lowest mark after two rounds in NCAA Championship competition in program history, besting the previous low mark set in 1953 when the squad ended at 591.
Augusta State leads the field, recovering from a two-over par round in its first round to shoot the round of the tournament so far at 13-under par (275), moving them to 11 under (565) overall. North Carolina State and Florida hold a share of second place at seven under (569).
Individually, Mitchell Sutton of North Carolina State leads the field at nine under par (135) after carding a second round 67 (-5). Southeastern Louisiana’s Philipp Westermann (136, -8) sits alone in second, while Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) of the Irish is alone in third at seven under par (137).
After carding a bogey free round on Thursday, Platt recorded only one bogey along with four birdies for his second consecutive under-par round of the tournament (69, -3). The freshman goes down in the annals of the Notre Dame NCAA record book, besting Cole Isban’s 36-hole mark of 146 set back in ’05.
“Niall played another fantastic round today,” remarked Kubinski. “There’s no question he has kept us in this tournament. He has but one bogey in 36 holes. I don’t know where that stands in the field, I assume unmatched, but it’s a great indicator of what kind of golf he’s playing. We’d all love to see him cap it off tomorrow with a win.”
Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif.) recorded the other under-par round for the Irish on day two, carding a one under par, 71. The lone senior in the rotation finished the day with 13 pars along with three birdies and two bogeys. After 36 holes of play, Chen is tied for 29th amongst the field at 145 (+1).
“My hats-off-award today goes to Jeff Chen,” stated Kubinski. “We were worried that Jeff might not make it around after learning of his illness this morning. He actually rested in the locker room with flu-like symptoms until just before his starting time, literally cutting his normal warm up from an hour to about 3 minutes. I think he hit five balls, then went right to the first tee and ended up posting one of the most clutch rounds of his career. It was a great, great effort.”
Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) posted the third-best score of the day for the Irish, finishing at two over (74). The junior recorded only five pars on the day, to go along with six birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey on the eighth hole. He is tied for 48th overall with a two-day total of 149 (+5).
Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) joins Walker in the tie for 48th, after firing a second-day score of 77 (+5). The sophomore finished the back nine at three over, which included a string of five consecutive bogeys, but with birdies on holes one and four had battled back to one over. A pair of bogeys and a double bogey on the final four holes of his round would drop him back to five over on the day.
Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) was the final Irish score counted on day two’s action. The junior concluded his second 18 holes with a 76 (+4), comprised of 12 pars, two birdies, three bogeys and a triple bogey on the eighth hole. After 36 holes, Scodro is tied for 54th at six over par (150).
Notre Dame tees off its final round at 8:20 a.m. (ET) on hole 10 alongside Missouri and UCF. Be sure to check back with und.com for a complete recap of the Irish in the third and final round of the NCAA Florida Regional.
NCAA Florida Regional - Golden Ocala Golf Course, Par 72 - 6,994 yards
Top-Five Team Scores (36-hole totals):1. Augusta State 565 -11T2. N.C. State 569 -7T2. Florida 569 -7T4. Baylor 570 -6T4. Arkansas 570 -6
Top-Six Golfers (36-hole totals)1. Mitchell Sutton, N.C. State 135 -92. Philipp Westerman, SE La. 136 -83. Niall Platt, NOTRE DAME 137 -7T4. Ben Greene, Kennesaw State 138 -6T4. Rhys West, SE Louisiana 138 -6T4. Greg Eason, UCF 138 -6
Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals)3. Niall Platt 137 -7T29. Jeff Chen 145 +1T48. Chris Walker 149 +5T48. Paul McNamara III 149 +5T54. Max Scodro 150 +6