April 25, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closes out the 2002-03 season when they participate in the 2003 Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational at Michigan State. The 54-hole tournament will be played on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27 at the par 72, 7,013-yard Forest Akers West Course in East Lansing, Mich. The Irish are coming off a second-place finish on Tuesday in the BIG EAST Championship as they lost to Virginia Tech by two strokes at the Warren Golf Course. The Irish played in the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational for the first time last season and finished tied for 12th in a 15-team field with a 927 total (307-308-306). Ryan Marshall (So., Marco Island, Fla.) was the top finisher for the Irish as he tied for 15th with an eight-over par 224.
The Teams: This year’s Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational features a 14-team field that includes Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Toledo, Xavier and Wisconsin.
Dates and Times: The 54-hole tournament will play 36 holes on Saturday, April 26 beginning with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). Sunday’s final round will also begin with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. (EDT).
Irish Lineup: Coach John Jasinski will go with a different lineup than he has used most of the season following this week’s BIG EAST Tournament. Scheduled to play for the Irish are team captain, Brandon Lunke (Sr., San Antonio, Texas). Joining the lineup at Michigan State will be Gavin Ferlic (Jr., South Bend, Ind.), K.C. Wiseman (So., South Bend, Ind.), Bill McCaughan (Jr., Key Biscayne, Fla.) and either freshmen Daniel Klauer (Granger, Ind.) or Federico Salazar (Bogota, Colombia). Klauer and Salazar have yet to play in a tournament this season.
Last Tournament: The Irish finished second at the BIG EAST Tournament after shooting an 891 total. That put them two strokes behind tournament champion Virginia Tech as the Hokies shot an 889 for the 54 holes. The Irish led after two rounds and had a three-stroke lead with nine holes to play but could not hold on for the win. Four Irish golfers took All-BIG EAST honors with top-seven finishes. Freshman Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tied for second with an 11-over par 221 (70-75-76). Brandon Lunke tied for fourth with a 222 (72-77-73) and Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.) and Tommy Balderston (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) finished sixth and seventh respectively. Baldwin shot a 224 (75-74-75) and Balderston a 226 (76-73-77). Eric Deutsch (Fr., Rochester, Minn.) tied for 11th with a 230 (75-76-79).
Irish Leaders: Freshman Scott Gustafson leads the Irish with a 75.03 average over 32 rounds of play. Brandon Lunke is second with a 75.42 average in 26 rounds. Gavin Ferlic has played in two tournaments this season and has a 78.50 average. K.C. Wiseman (two tournaments) and a 78.66 mark and Bill McCaughan (two tournaments) and a 79.33 average follow Ferlic on the scoring chart. Daniel Klauer and Federico Salazar have not played this season.
Tournament Results: Results will be available on the Notre Dame website at und.com after 10:00 p.m. on each day of tournament play. Livestat results will also be available on Sunday at msuspartans.com.
Next For The Irish: This is the final tournament of the season for the Irish.