Sept. 17, 2011
CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team moved into a tie for 10th place after day two of the Olympia Fields Invitational on Saturday at Olympia Fields Country Club. The Irish used a second-day 297 (+17) in very difficult scoring conditions to currently sit at 589 (+29) heading into final-round play on Sunday.
“We hung in there today,” said Irish head coach Jim Kubinski. “We are still leaving too many shots out there. I’d like to see us get to that 90-95% conversion rate from around four feet. We missed too many of those today. We also made a few bogeys with wedges into the green. We’re driving it well. We’re fighting hard too; we are really competing. We need to put a solid one together tomorrow and have a strong overall showing.”
Stanford leads the field by a full 11 shots after two days, representing the lone team in the field under par after 36 holes at 559 (-1). Oklahoma State sits in second at 570 (+10) with Auburn rounding out the top three at 578 (+18). The Cardinal also hold the top three spots on the individual leaderboard with Cameron Wilson (136, -4), Andrew Yun (137, -3) and Patrick Rodgers (138, -2) in first through third, respectively.
Senior Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) highlighted Saturday play for the Irish, moving from a tie for 43rd into a share of 19th after a second round 72 (+2) took him to 146 (+6) after 36 holes. Walker pushed his round to three under after six holes of play before coming back to level par after nine holes. Over his final nine holes of play, he was able to couple one birdie with three bogeys and five pars to conclude his round.
“Chris was great through six holes at three under with all one putts,” remarked Kubinski. “He gave a couple away today but really held the team in there. His 72 was a great score out there in tough conditions. I’m proud of Chris. He will always fight hard. He has matured a great deal the last two or three years and is really close to great things.”
Senior Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) sits second amongst the Irish and tied for 32nd overall with a 36-hole total of 147 (+7). Scodro recorded his lone birdie of the round on the par-four, 18th hole to go along with five bogeys, one double bogey and 11 pars. For the day, Scodro concluded with a 76 (+6) and was not counted toward the team score.
Sophomore Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) followed up his opening round 72 (+2) with a 75 (+5) on Saturday. After starting his second round with an opening-nine 39 (+4), Platt put together a one over (36) back nine that featured two birdies, three bogeys and four pars. Overall, Platt joins Scodro in a tie for 32nd.
Junior Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) posted an identical 75 (+5) to his opening round results. While not recording a birdie on the day, McNamara played consistent golf in posting 13 pars along with five bogeys. He is tied for 51st heading into Sunday.
Senior Tom Usher (Baildon, England) rebounded nicely from his opening round 81 (+11), to post a 75 (+5) on day two. He registered one birdie along with six bogeys and 11 pars to move from a tie for 74th into a tie for 69th overall at 156 (+16).
Trailing fifth place by only six shots, the Irish head into their pivotal final round playing off the 10th tee beginning at 8:00 a.m. (CT) alongside Florida and Ohio State. Be sure to check back with und.com for a complete recap of Sunday’s action at the Olympia Fields Invitational.
Olympia Fields Invitational - Chicago, Ill. - Par 70, 7,205 yards
Team Leaderboard (36 holes complete):1. Stanford 559 -12. Oklahoma State 570 +103. Auburn 578 +184. Texas 579 +19T5. Florida State 583 +23T5. Alabama 583 +23
Individual Leaderboard (36 holes complete):1. Cameron Wilson, Stanford 136 -42. Andrew Yun, Stanford 137 -33. Patrick Rodgers, Stanford 138 -2T4. Dylan Frittelli, Texas 140 ET4. TJ Vogel, Florida 140 E
Notre Dame Results (36 holes complete):T10. NOTRE DAME 589 +29T19. Chris Walker 146 +6T32. Max Scodro 147 +7T32. Niall Platt 147 +7T51. Paul McNamara III 150 +10T69. Tom Usher 156 +16
–ND–