Sophomore Dustin Zhang tied for 18th place at last year's BIG EAST Championship, and is one of two Irish golfers with experience playing in the conference tournament.

Irish Remain In 18th Place At Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational

March 21, 2009

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STATESBORO, Ga. — Sophomores Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif./Los Altos) and Dustin Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) both fired an even-par 72 on Saturday to spark Notre Dame’s effort during the second round of the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational, being played at the Forest Heights Country Club (par 72/6,947 yards) in Statesboro, Ga. As a team, the Irish remain in 18th place at the tournament with a two-day total of 33-over par 609 (311-298), while South Carolina and Florida (both ranked in the top 15 nationally) share the overnight lead at 579.

Chen is Notre Dame’s individual leader through 36 holes at five-over par 149 (77-72), tying for 48th place in the 96-man field. On the strength of three consecutive birdies to close out the round, Chen matched his best 18-hole score of the season, a mark he now has carded eight times in 2008-09. Meanwhile, Zhang rose into a tie for 63rd place at seven-over par 151 (79-72), playing the back nine in two-under par 34.

Three players are tied for the individual lead after two rounds, with Augusta State’s Taylor Floyd, North Carolina State’s Matt Hill and Florida’s Tim McKenney each standing at four-under par 140.

Junior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) is tied for 81st place at 10-over par 154 (77-77), one stroke ahead of sophomore Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School), who shares 87th place at 155 (78-77). Freshman Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep (Ariz.)) got off to a strong start on Saturday, covering the front nine in one-under par 35, but he could not maintain that momentum and remains tied for 94th place at 15-over par 159 (82-77).

The Irish are playing this weekend’s tournament without head coach Jim Kubinski, who did not make the trip to Georgia after suffering flu-like symptoms earlier in the week. Assistant coach Steve Colnitis is piloting the team in Kubinski’s absence.

Notre Dame will tee off in the third and final round at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational on Sunday, with the first Irish golfers set to start on the 10th tee at 8 a.m. (ET). Live scoring is available through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com), while complete results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com) and the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) at the conclusion of the day’s competition.

— ND —

Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
March 20-21, 2009
Forest Heights Country Club (Statesboro, Ga.)
Par 72/6,947 yards

36-HOLE TEAM RESULTS: 1. (tie) South Carolina 579 (291-288) and Florida 579 (292-287); 3. Tennessee 580 (287-293); 4. North Carolina State 582 (295-287); 5. (tie) Kentucky 584 (297-287) and Georgia Southern 584 (291-293); 7. North Carolina 586 (302-284); 8. North Florida 587 (290-297); 9. (tie) LSU 588 (296-292) and Mississippi 588 (295-293); 11. (tie) Oklahoma 590 (293-297), Vanderbilt 590 (296-294) and Virginia 590 (296-294); 14. Augusta State 591 (298-293); 15. Georgia State 592 (295-297); 16. Auburn 595 (294-301); 17. Iowa 596 (302-294); 18. NOTRE DAME 609 (311-298).

TOP 4 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 96): 1. (tie) Taylor Floyd (ASU)* 140 (69-71), Matt Hill (NCSU) 140 (71-69) and Tim McKenney (UF) 140 (72-68); 4. Sang Yi (LSU) 141 (69-72); 48. (tie) Jeff Chen (ND) 149 (77-72); 63. (tie) Dustin Zhang (ND) 151 (79-72); 81. (tie) Doug Fortner (ND) 154 (77-77); 87. (tie) Connor Alan-Lee (ND) 155 (78-77); 94. (tie) Max Scodro (ND) 159 (82-77).
* – individual participant; score not counted to team total