Senior tri-captain Scott Gustafson is tied for 15th place at the NCAA East Regional following an even-par 72 in Thursday's opening round at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando.

Irish Visit Deep South To Tackle Legendary Shoal Creek

Sept. 24, 2005

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2005 Shoal Creek Intercollegiate
Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, 2005
8:15 a.m. (CDT) both days
Shoal Creek Golf Club (Par 72/7,200 yards)
Birmingham, Ala.

Continuing its circuit of some of the country’s top courses this fall, Notre Dame will take part in its second tournament of the 2005-06 season Monday and Tuesday at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate, to be held in Birmingham, Ala., at the famed Shoal Creek Golf Club, site of the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. The Irish also are slated to visit two of California’s top layouts – PGA WEST and CordeValle next month.

Notre Dame is coming off a fifth-place finish in last week’s season-opening Gopher Invitational. Following a sluggish opening round, the Irish battled their way back up the leaderboard, winding up at 29-over par 893 (309-297-287). Among the teams Notre Dame defeated in the event were Georgia Southern, SMU and Stanford, all nationally-ranked squads at the end of last season.

Quoting Coach Kubinski …
“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to travel to Birmingham this week and compete in a great event on one of the nation’s best golf courses. Shoal Creek has hosted major championships in the past and presents us with many different elements from what we faced in Minnesota – in terms of weather, environment and grasses. Golfers are always looking to test themselves on different stages. This is a tremendous opportunity for us.

“Coming off a great final round 287 at Minnesota, also played on a fantastic golf course, I think we have some momentum. Scott (Gustafson) played solidly throughout, and Cole (Isban) and Mark (Baldwin) played well over the final 36 holes. We just got off to a slow start there. Whether it was first tournament nerves or travel problems or another factor, I’m not sure. I know that we showed the type of team we can be in that final round and look to this week with great excitement.

“The field is very strong at Shoal Creek. We’ll be teeing it up with a couple of teams that I have voted as potential top 10-type teams in Florida and Alabama. UAB is certainly a very solid team, too. We’ll also mix it up with other talented schools like Tennessee, SMU and Georgia State, to mention just a few. It’s a strong and very deep field, and we’ll need to be ready from the opening tee shot. We have to play a complete 54 holes this week, and we have the type of players that can. It’ll be interesting to see how we fare with a tournament under our belt.”

Dates and Times
Teams will play two rounds (36 holes) on Monday, with the opening round teeing off via a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. (CDT). The second round will begin immediately following the conclusion of round one. Competitors will then return to the course Tuesday morning for the final round, with tee times based upon the tournament standings through the first two rounds.

Tournament Results
No live scoring will be available for this tournament. However, complete results following each day’s action will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com). In addition, all the latest information on the Irish is available on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000). Callers should select option #9, then press #2 for updates on the tournament, including any weather or scheduling delays.

The Tournament Format
A total of 15 five-man teams (75 participants, with the possibility of some teams fielding additional golfers on an individual basis) will be participating in the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate. Conventional collegiate golf team scoring rules will apply, with the lowest four scores in the five-man lineup in each round counting toward the team total. Scores by golfers competing on an individual basis do not count to the team total.

The Teams
Besides Notre Dame and host UAB, the remaining teams in the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate field are: Alabama, Birmingham Southern, East Tennessee State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia State, LSU, North Carolina State, North Florida, SMU, Tennessee, Toledo and UCF (Central Florida).

According to the first GCAA/Bridgestone coaches’ poll of the season (released Sept. 23), four Top 25 teams will be competing at Shoal Creek – No. 3 Florida, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 14 Georgia State and No. 17 Alabama, with Tennessee and Georgia State each having garnered a first-place vote. Five additional squads presently are receiving votes in that poll – SMU, Florida State, East Tennessee State, North Carolina State and UCF. Combined, these nine teams make up more than half of the field at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate.

Both the Golfstat rankings and Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index have not yet posted their first ratings of the 2005-06 season.

In last week’s season-opening Gopher Invitational, Notre Dame faced three of the same teams it will face this weekend – UAB, Georgia State and SMU. The Irish went 2-1 against this group, finishing ahead of SMU (24 shots) and UAB (did not finish), while placing just three strokes behind nationally-ranked Georgia State.

The Course
The Shoal Creek Golf Club opened in 1977 and has been the site of three major championship tournaments in its nearly three decades of existence. Lee Trevino won the 1984 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek, and Wayne Grady won the same event in 1990. More recently in 1996, Tiger Woods won the last of his three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles at the course.

Located in Birmingham, Ala., Shoal Creek ranks 49th on the recently-released Golf Digest list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. The par-72 Jack Nicklaus-designed layout is notable for its numerous sharply etched bunkers and rock-strewn creeks across the 7,200-yard track.

This week’s Shoal Creek Intercollegiate will be the first college tournament to be contested at Shoal Creek since 1995, when the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate completed a five-year run at the famed course.

Last Tournament – Gopher Invitational
Using a healthy blend of experience and determination, Notre Dame fired a one-under par 287 in the final round and rose up to grab fifth-place honors at the 12-team Gopher Invitational, which was contested Sept. 17-18 in Wayzata, Minn., at the Spring Hill Golf Club (par 72/7,020 yards). The Irish showed exceptional improvement throughout their season-opening tournament, carding a 29-over par 893 (309-297-287) to register their fifth top-five finish in the past eight events, all coming since the arrival of second-year head coach Jim Kubinski in January.

Notre Dame’s third-round 287 was one of only three under-par scores posted in the entire tournament, with Washington, the third-place finisher at last season’s NCAA Championships, also shooting a 287 in the final round, and host Minnesota compiling a 284 in the second round. UM and Washington ended the tourney tied for first at 19-over par 883, but the Gophers won the title on a tiebreaker with a better score from their fifth golfer (UW’s No. 5 man was disqualified when he failed to sign his scorecard after the second round).

Senior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) capped off an impressive return to his home state by tying for sixth place at two-over 218 (73-73-72), three shots back of tournament medalist Niall Turner of Minnesota. It was Gustafson’s best finish since a third-place showing at the 2003 SMU/Stonebridge Invitational, and his lowest 54-hole score since firing a 216 at the 2004 USC/Cleveland Golf Classic. In addition, it was the sixth top-10 finish of Gustafson’s career.

Senior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) finished one shot behind his teammate in a 10th-place tie at three-over par 219 (76-72-71), marking his fifth career top-10 placement and fourth in the past year. The strong performances by Gustafson and Baldwin also gave Notre Dame two golfers in the top 10 of a full tournament (10+ teams) for the first time since the 2004 Rice Intercollegiate, when Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) and Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) were fourth and eighth, respectively.

Speaking of Isban, the Irish junior turned in Notre Dame’s best individual score in the final round, carding a 70 (-2) to tie for 22nd place at eight-over par 224 (80-74-70). Isban’s final-round 70 was earmarked by five birdies and was marred only by a pair of late bogies that slightly blemished his scorecard. Meanwhile, senior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) ended up tied for 42nd place at 17-over par 233 (81-78-74), and sophomore Mike King (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) closed out his weekend in a 58th-place tie at 26-over par 242 (80-81-81).

Thumbnails On The Irish Lineup
Cole Isban (74.67 this year; 74.17 in 2004-05) – Has started 26 of a possible 27 tournaments in his two-plus seasons at Notre Dame (only miss: 2004 Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational when starters were rested prior to NCAA Central Regional) … has not placed lower than 30th in his last 14 tournaments dating back to the 2004 NCAA Central Regional (tie-97th place) … has been exceptionally reliable, as 67 of his 73 collegiate rounds (.918) have counted towards the team score – the third-best percentage by an Irish golfer in the past 15 seasons (1990-present) … led team with 74.17 stroke average last year (sixth-lowest season mark in school history) … also had team-best five top-10 finishes and shared team-high honors with three top-five placements … paced squad with eight rounds of par or lower last season … 2005 PING/All-Midwest Region selection (first Irish player to earn regional or national accolades since 1980) … two-time all-BIG EAST Conference honoree (2004, 2005) … has qualified for past two U.S. Amateur Championships … reached round-of-16 match play at 2005 Western Amateur … career 74.68 stroke average ranks sixth in school history.

Mark Baldwin (73.00 this year; 74.93 in 2004-05) – Has made major improvements in his game during the past year, becoming a mainstay in the Irish lineup … has five career top-10 finishes, with four of those coming in a little more than one season … has ended up 20th or higher in seven of his last nine events (six times in 2005 calendar year) … has seen 25 of his last 27 rounds (.926) counted towards the team score … shared team-high stroke average honors last spring at 74.76 … shot school and Warren Golf Course-record 63 (-7) in opening round of TCU dual match on April 9, 2005 … two-time all-BIG EAST choice (2003, 2005).

Scott Gustafson (72.67 this year; 77.67 in 2004-05) – Showing signs of returning to form that made him Notre Dame’s No. 1 golfer in 2002 and 2003 … led team with 218 (+2) at last week’s Gopher Invitational, his 12th career team-leading finish (fourth in school history) … was his sixth career top-10 finish and best showing since a third-place finish at the 2003 SMU/Stonebridge Invitational … was hampered much of last year by arm injury suffered in fall 2004 automobile accident … second among Irish veterans with 75.47 career stroke average, which is 11th in school history … played 100th collegiate round in final circuit at Gopher Invitational … 2003 all-BIG EAST selection.

Greg Rodgers (76.66 in 2004-05) – Making 2005-06 debut … had three top-10 finishes during his rookie season … earned team-high scoring honors on two occasions (Windon Memorial Classic, Irish Spring Invitational) … best finish was a tie for 14th at the Irish Spring Invitational … fired a career-low 69 in the second round at the Windon Memorial Classic … career-best 216 came at The Nelson Invitational (Stanford Golf Course played as par-69 due to renovations).

Eric Deutsch (77.67 this year; 76.20 in 2004-05) – Wily veteran who has come up big in clutch situations … was Notre Dame’s top finisher at NCAA Central Regional the past two seasons (tie for 27th in 2004; tie for 20th in 2005) … final-round 68 at ’05 Central Regional was a school record and helped Irish charge into contention for berth in NCAA Championships (ND finished two shots out of a playoff) … has four career top-10 finishes and two top-five placements … two-time all-BIG EAST selection (2004, 2005) … was one of three Notre Dame golfers to qualify for 2005 U.S. Amateur … owns 76.41 career stroke average.

Next Up For The Irish
Notre Dame will have a week off before returning to the links on Oct. 9-10 for the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham, N.C. The host Blue Devils will be the marquee team in the field, as they are currently ranked fifth in the GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll. No. 23 Minnesota, the 2002 NCAA champion, and Notre Dame’s former BIG EAST Conference rival, Virginia Tech, also are among the teams scheduled to compete in the event.