Oct. 25, 2010
SEASIDE, Calif. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team sits atop the leaderboard after the first day of action at the St. Mary’s Invitational on the Bayonet & Blackhorse Golf Courses in Seaside, Calif. The team fired a 36-hole score of 570 (-6) led by Tom Usher (Bradford, England) who paces the Irish individually at four-under par (140).
The Irish got off to a quick start on the day, posting a seven-under par (281) score at the Bayonet Course in the first round, before leveling off during the second 18 holes on the Blackhorse Course, shooting a one-over par (289). They hold the lead by 16 shots over the host St. Mary’s Gaels, who fired an opening-day score of 586 (+10).
Usher got off to a hot start to his tournament at the Bayonet Course, posting a 68 (-4). He carded six birdies on the round with only two bogies, including playing the back nine bogey-free. In the afternoon round at Blackhorse, Usher carded five more birdies and played at an even-par clip (72), finishing in a tie for first place after 36 holes.
Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) sits alone in fourth after the opening day at two-under par (142). He, like Usher, took advantage of the Bayonet Course in the morning, recording four birdies and no bogies on his opening 18 holes. He finished his second round at the Blackhorse Course at two-over par (74) but did record back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes.
Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) finished his opening day at even par (144), playing his opening 18 holes at one over (73) before finishing with a one-under par (71) in the afternoon on the Blackhorse Course. He recorded eight total birdies, three of which came on par 5’s, and is alone in sixth place heading into the final day.
Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) represents the fourth Irish golfer in the top 10 after the first day, sitting in a tie for seventh at two-over par (146). After firing an even-par opening round (72), Scodro fired a two-over par (74) in his afternoon session. He recorded eight birdies on the day, including a string of three of four holes on the back nine at the Blackhorse Course from holes 14 through 17.
Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) rounded out the Irish rotation, sharing 41st place at seven-over par (151). He struggled during the morning round, posting a seven-over par (79) before rebounding with an even-par 72 in the afternoon. Platt sat at four over entering his final six holes at the Blackhorse Course before going eagle (2), birdie (3), birdie (4) on holes six through eight to pull back to even.
Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif.) competed as an individual for the Irish and is in a tie for 29th entering the final round at six-over par (150). After battling through an 81 (+9) in his opening round, Alan-Lee posted the low mark of the day among the individual entrants with a second round 69 (-3), aided by an eagle on the par-5 first hole.
Final round action is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. (PST) with a shotgun start at the Bayonet Golf Course.
For live hole-by-hole scoring of the third round of the St. Mary’s Invite go to www.golfstatresults.com and be sure to check back with und.com for a complete recap as the Irish look to capture their first victory of the fall season.
St. Mary’s Invitational – Bayonet/Blackhorse Golf Courses – Par 72 – 7,117/7,024 yards
Top-Five Team Scores (36-hole totals): 1. NOTRE DAME (-6/570); 2. St. Mary’s (Calif.) (+10/586); 3. Santa Clara (+11/587); 4. Pacific (+13/589); 5. Loyola Marymount (+17/593)
Top-Five Golfers (36-hole totals): t1. Tom Usher (NOTRE DAME/140); t1. Scott Travers (Santa Clara/140); 3. Nathan Sutherland (Miami (OH)/141); 4. Paul McNamara III (NOTRE DAME/142); 5. Scott Smith (Nevada/143)
Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals): t1. Tom Usher (68-72-140); 4. Paul McNamara III (68-74-142); 6. Chris Walker (73-71-144); t7. Max Scodro (72-74-146); t29. Connor Alan-Lee (individual) (81-69-150); t41. Niall Platt (79-72-151)
–ND–