Freshman Talia Campbell has gathered four top-25 finishes this season.

Irish Set For Briar's Creek Invitational in South Carolina on Monday

March 22, 2013

Season Statistics Get Acrobat Reader

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 23rd ranked University of Notre Dame women’s golf team travels to John’s Island, S.C., to participate in the two-day 54-hole Briar’s Creek Invitational at the par 72 Briar’s Creek Club’s golf course (6,120 yards) Monday and Tuesday (March 25-26).

FORMAT: A 36-hole shotgun start will be administered on Monday with play beginning at 9:15 a.m. followed by a 9 a.m. shotgun start Tuesday to wrap up the final 18 holes.

TOURNAMENT UPDATES: Live stats will be available via golfstat.com. Sign up for “Irish Alerts” at the top of the UND.com homepage to receive a daily text message for the final scores. Track the Irish on twitter @NDwomensGolf. A full recap and posting of final results can be found on UND.com at the conclusion of each day.

FIELD: Augusta State, Campbell, Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, East Carolina, Furman, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Maryland, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Florida, Wisconsin.

MATCHING UP: The Irish enter as the highest ranked team among the participating schools and hold a 14-1 record against the field on the year. Two student-athletes reside in the nation’s top-50, which include No. 8 Lindsey Weaver and No. 45 Laura Wearn of Furman. Notre Dame has posted a 3-0 record against Kansas this season. The Irish have additionally defeated Wisconsin and Coastal Carolina on two occasions on the year. Notre Dame will get their first look at five schools including in-state rival, Indiana.

THE COURSE: The Briar’s Creek Club’s par 72 course measures a distance of 6,120 yards. Opened in 2001, the course was designed by Rees Jones, a designer who has designed over 110 new courses during his lifetime and laid the foundation for seven courses in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Courses.” Golf Digest additionally named Briar’s Creek course the ‘Best New Private Course’ in America in 2003. The course has been given a slope of 126 and a 70 rating.

“Playing at such a great course as Briar’s Creek is always a treat and a great opportunity for our players to play one of the best courses in the country,” says head coach Susan Holt. “We will have to earn the win. We played against Furman at the Seminole Match Up and they beat us this spring already. Campbell, East Carolina and Augusta State have played some good rounds this year and Wisconsin is coming off a win in their last outing. With the event being 36 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday, we will have to come out Monday ready to compete. We will have to get off to a good start and build on that throughout the tournament. I like our chances of coming home with a win. We got in great practice rounds over spring break and with a short turn around of only a week. I think our games will remain sharp and we will be ready to tee it up Monday for the 36-hole day.”

LAST TIME OUT: The Irish finished third out of 18 teams last weekend at the Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate in Augusta, Ga., at the Forest Hills Golf Club with a final team scorecard of a 24-over-par 888 (303-290-295). Sophomore Ashley Armstrong was the medalist with a one-under-par 215 (76-69-70). Armstrong’s round was the best of her collegiate career and helped her earn BIG EAST Golf Player of the Week honors last week. Armstrong was joined by freshmen Weaver (73-75-72-220), who finished sixth and Talia Campbell (77-71-74), who tied for ninth. Junior Kristina Nhim (77-81-79) and sophomore Kelli Oride (82-75-80) each tied for 56th place with a 21-over-par 237 in the field of 99 competitors. The tournament was the first time since the 2012 BIG EAST Championship that Notre Dame had three players finish in the top 10. The Irish defeated two top-50 teams, No. 34 Kentucky and No. 48 UTSA.

UPDATE: Through the first seven tournaments Notre Dame carries a 297.37 stroke average and has fired 15 combined even or under par rounds. Notre Dame enters the weekend with an 80-25-0 record and is currently 31-12 during the spring.

HERE COME THE IRISH: Concluding the Briar’s Creek Invitational, Notre Dame will travel to Dallas, Texas, to participate in the DAC/SMU Invitational at the Dallas Athletic Club, April 4-7. The tournament will be the final outing before the BIG EAST Championship April 21-23 at the Reunion Resort and Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

–ND–