March 15, 2014
-THE EVENT
The Talis Park Challenge, hosted by Ball State University, March 16-17, Talis Park Golf Club, Naples, Fla.
-THE LAYOUT
The Talis Park Golf Club was designed by famed golf course architect Pete Dye and two-time major champion Greg Norman, and opened in 2005. The par 72, 7,025-yard layout has been ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top 20 courses in the state of Florida.
-SHOTGUN START THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH
The 54-hole stroke play tournament will be contested over two days, and begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (ET) on Sunday. The second round is scheduled to start immediately following the conclusion of round one, at approximately 1 p.m. The third and final round will get underway Monday, with a second shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
-PICK A WINNER OUT OF THE 14 TEAMS IN TOURNAMENT FIELD
A total of 14 teams will tee it up this week at the Talis Park Challenge. Joining Notre Dame and host Ball State are Austin Peay, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Florida Gulf Coast, Indiana, IUPUI, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Wichita State and Xavier.
-TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Results will be posted on the UND Athletic Department Web site (www.UND.com) at the conclusion of each round. Live stats will be available at ballstatesports.com and birdiefire.com.
-LOOKING AHEAD
Notre Dame travels to the Lone Star Challenge at the Golf Club at Briggs Ranch in San Antonio, Texas on March 24-25.
NAPLES, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team looks to finish its Spring Break tournament schedule on a high note this week at the Talis Park Challenge, taking place on Sunday and Monday at the Talis Park Golf Club. The first round Sunday and the third round Monday will both begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (ET), with the second round following a continuous flow of play Sunday afternoon.
Notre Dame opened the 2014 spring season with a seventh-place finish last week at the Lamkin San Diego Classic in San Diego, Calif., trying to overcome the rust of the offseason months and a stomach illness that spread through the majority of the Irish starting lineup. Two Notre Dame veteran players, senior tri-captain Niall Platt and junior Tyler Wingo, cracked the top 25 of the final individual results, with Platt in a tie for 13th place and Wingo in a tie for 19th place, respectively.
Platt made a total of three birdies during his final 18 last Tuesday as part of a third-round 71 to pull himself to two-over-par 218 for the tournament (74-73-71). Wingo logged four birdies with only one bogey during his afternoon round on Monday, posting the low Notre Dame score of the event with a three-under 69 on his way to an overall total of 220 (75-69-76).
Younger members of the lineup all showed flashes of success, including three straight birdies for junior Patrick Grahek, on his front nine of Monday’s first round. Freshman Blake Barens battled illness on the way to three straight rounds of four-over 76 (228) and a tie for 42nd place. Freshman Matt Rushton also made the most of his scoring opportunities throughout the San Diego Classic, setting the Notre Dame team pace with 12 birdies in his three rounds.
This week’s Talis Park Challenge will be Notre Dame’s first opportunity to play the Talis Park Golf Club, a joint design of architect Pete Dye and World Golf Hall of Fame player Greg Norman. The club opened in 2005, and has been tabbed as one of the 20 best golf courses in the state of Florida by Golf Digest.
Stay tuned to UND.com for a live results link when it becomes available. Full tournament statistics will also be available following the conclusion of play each day.
–ND–