Sept. 24, 2009
NoTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team will head to the Mason Rudolph Championship in the team’s second tournament of the fall season. The 54-hole tournament runs from Friday-Sunday, Sept. 25-27 in Franklin, Tenn. at the Vanderbilt Legends Club’s South Course, a par 71/7,100-yard course. Vanderbilt will serve as the host for the three-day event.
The Irish are looking to continue the momentum they started to build with a sixth place finish at the Gopher Invitational, which took place two weekends ago in Wayzata, Minn.
“We played pretty well in stretches up at Minnesota’s event but nowhere near our best,” head coach Jim Kubinski surmised. “As we find our stride and play the golf we’re capable of, I think we’ll have chances to win tournaments this season.”
The Irish will send seniors Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford), Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) and Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill), junior Connor Alan-Lee (Solano Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School) and sophomore Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) to compete in the Mason Rudolph Championships. Sandman, Santos-Ocampo and Fortner will all be teeing off in their second tournament of the season. Alan-Lee will be competing in his second event but his first as a member of the starting five. Walker will be competing in his first event of the season for the Irish.
“We had a good battle for lineup spots this week, which is not surprising given the competitive roster we have this year,” said Kubinski. “We’re a deep team and that should serve us well over time. Heading to Vanderbilt though, this lineup has a great blend of talents. We have length and accuracy covered. This group is also excellent around the greens. Plus, we have tremendous senior leadership.”
THE COMPETITION: 17 teams will comprise the Mason Rudolph Championship field, including (Golfstat rankings from 9.23.09 in parentheses): Akron (73), Arkansas State (118), Belmont, College of Charleston (114), Davidson (155), Georgia Tech (3), Lipscomb, Memphis (122), Middle Tennessee State (34), Mississippi (111), Mississippi State, Notre Dame (45), South Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee-Martin, Vanderbilt, Western Carolina.
THE MASON RUDOLPH CHAMPIONSHIP: Notre Dame will be appearing in the Mason Rudolph Championship for the second time, as the Irish competed in two years ago. They were able to secure a tie for eighth place, carding a 292 (+8) at the 18-hole rain-shortened event. South Carolina returns to the tournament as the defending champion, having taken top honors in 2008.
Kubinski’s thoughts on the tournament… “Vanderbilt’s Legends Course is a fun venue for a college event. It’s a fair test with some birdie chances out there. Depending on the hole locations and the amount of wind, I can see some low scores being posted. Yet, it’s not a pushover. Players have a few testing shots out there.”
Kubinski’s thoughts on returning to Vanderbilt… “We were rained out in 2007, so we’re eager to return and finish it out. We’re very much looking forward to the competition this weekend. It’s a great opportunity to see where we stand at this early point in our season.”
FORMAT: Each team’s lineup will be comprised of five golfers with the lowest four scores for each round counting towards the overall team score. The tournament, which will run from Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27, will consist of 54 holes with all three days featuring 18-holes of play. Scheduled tee times are set to begin at 8 a.m. (CT) on both Friday and Saturday, with final round play beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Teams will be teeing off from either the first or tenth tees each day.
RESULTS: Live hole-by-hole scoring of the Mason Rudolph Championship will be available through Golfstat. To access the site go to http://www.golfstatresults.com. Daily recaps will be posted on und.com.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Notre Dame earned sixth place finish at the Gopher Invitational, carding an 881 (17-over par) at the 54-hole tournament. Sandman earned the top Irish result, tying for seventh place after firing a 216 (E), including a six-under par 66 on his second 18 holes of day one. Junior Connor Alan-Lee competed as an individual at the event, earning a tie for 43rd after carding a 227 (11-over par).
NEXT UP: Notre Dame will return to action when they play host to the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic at Warren Golf Course on October 5-6.