Sept. 12, 2017
Team Standings | Player Standings
MADISON, Wis. – Notre Dame men’s golf junior Ben Albin surged on the back-nine of the Badger Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, recording six birdies in the final seven holes at the Course Ridge Golf Course. As a result, Albin finished third individually and helped propel the Irish to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.
Albin’s six-under par tied for the fourth lowest round in program history, with an impressive five-under par on the back-nine. Albin ultimately secured his fourth career top-three finish, ending the tournament at nine-under par – which also tied for the second lowest 54-hole tournament score in school history.
“Ben and Coach Gump were together all three days and he just played phenomenally,” Notre Dame head coach John Handrigan stated. “He maintained a positive attitude throughout. A third-place finish is an awesome way to start the year.”
Collectively, the Irish notched the second lowest total on the day at 274 (-10), marking the fourth lowest team total in program history. More impressively was the fact that Notre Dame improved its round total each day, thus earning a fourth place showing in the 16-team field at 14-under par – which also tied for the second best 54-hole team score in Notre Dame history.
“Improvement every day. That’s what you like to see,” Handrigan stated. “First nine holes in the first round were not our best but we bounced back. Then, on the second and third days, it was such a great team effort.”
Davis Lamb, Miguel Delgado and Davis Chatfield all finished within the top-30 in the field. After an up-and-down start, Lamb reeled off seven birdies from holes 4-13. However, after suffering back-to-back bogies on the 15th and 16th holes, the sophomore finished at four-under for the day and 30th place overall at 218 (+2).
Delgado shot one-under par on Tuesday to wrap the Badger Invitational in 25th place with an even score tournament total of 216. Meanwhile, Chatfield shot one-over to achieve a 215 (-1), good for 21st.
Earning the top spots overall on the team leaderboard were Marquette in third (-17), Kansas in second (-19) and No. 16 Texas A&M in first (-25).
“There’s a lot of talent on this team. A lot of grit,” Handrigan added. “Lamb and Albin showed moments of brilliance out there and really displayed the depth this team has.”
Up next, the Irish will travel to Shoal Creek, Alabama for the two-day Shoal Creek Invitational, taking place Sept. 25-26.
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Josh Bates joined Fighting Irish Media as associate athletics communications director in July of 2017, serving as the women’s basketball and men’s golf contact. Bates earned both his bachelor’s (2011) and master’s (2014) degree in sports management from the University of Illinois. He also worked as a grad assistant at Illinois from 2012-14 and worked full-time at Tulane University from 2014-17.