Feb. 9, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team will depart from the snow-covered courses of northern Indiana and make its way to the Florida Gulf Coast Saturday for its annual Irish Alumni Matches, which are scheduled to take place at the Saddlebrook Resort in suburban Tampa. Competition will take place on a pair of Arnold Palmer-designed courses at Saddlebrook — the Palmer Course (par 71/6,641 yards) and the Saddlebrook Course (par 70/6,564 yards) — with this year’s event once again aided by the gracious support of Greg Riehle (’79), the executive vice president of Saddlebrook Holdings.
All 11 members of the 2006-07 Notre Dame squad will be in action at this weekend’s Alumni Matches, which act as a type of exhibition play for the Irish prior to the start of their spring schedule later this month. The tentative format of the Alumni Matches calls for two Irish players to be paired with two alums in five foursomes, with the remaining Irish player combining with three alums for a total of six teams (24 players total). Teams will play 18 holes on Saturday in a unique “best 2-of-4” scoring system, where the best gross score and best net score in each foursome for each hole are counted.
“We’re very fortunate to have an opportunity to play two great golf courses this weekend and compete against so many of our Notre Dame alumni,” third-year Irish head coach Jim Kubinski said. “Saddlebrook is a perfect set up for us. It’s very convenient in relation to Tampa and it has both great golf and great restaurants right on site. It makes it easy for us to focus on sharpening our play, as we look toward our first collegiate competition next weekend. Plus, it’s a great opportunity for our players to interact with supportive and successful people. It should be a valuable experience for all of us.”
The Irish posted a solid fall 2006 season, carding a 295.27 team stroke average (presently second-best in school history) with a 28-32 record, all of which is good for a current No. 51 ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ratings. Notre Dame picked up five wins over teams presently in the Golfweek Top 50, and turned in a season-best runner-up finish at the inaugural Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic on Oct. 9-10, trailing only top-10 program Lamar.
Individually, senior All-America candidate Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) registered a 72.33 stroke average during the fall, putting him on pace to challenge the single-season school record that he set last year (72.97). Sophomore Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) has formed a strong 1-2 punch with Isban at the top of the Notre Dame lineup, shooting a 72.80 in the fall, while junior Eddie Peckels (Pinehurst, N.C./Pope John Paul II (Fla.)) showed flashes of potential with a 75.29 stroke average during the first half of the season. The possibilities for future success also appeared with the Irish freshmen, as Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) carded a 75.45 average and even fired a pair of aces in four fall tournaments. Fellow rookie Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) also had a hole-in-one during his first-ever collegiate event and could be heard from this spring.
In addition, this weekend’s Alumni Matches will give the Irish their first opportunity to reap the benefits of their brand-new indoor practice complex, the $2.1 million Robert and Marilyn Rolfs Family All-Season Varsity Golf Facility. The state-of-the-art, 10,000-square foot building features heated driving bays, as well as a full-sized putting green and chipping area (complete with a sand bunker), and has allowed Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s golf programs to continue honing their skills even during inclement weather.
“I’m very excited about our upcoming spring season,” Kubinski said. “I’m confident we’ll make a big push toward the NCAA Championship again and feel our best golf is in front of us. It might seem strange to say that considering our current squad has one of the best team scoring averages in Notre Dame history, but we’ve had so many players gain valuable college experience this past fall. It’s early in terms of traveling out of some challenging weather, but our new facility has helped us a great deal. We still need to play the game and gain momentum but I believe you’ll see us continually improving right into the BIG EAST and NCAA Championships. Saddlebrook is the starting point. All of us as players and coaches are excited and ready for a great run.”
The Irish will officially open their 2007 spring schedule Feb. 19-20 when they travel to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of North Florida at the Sawgrass Country Club.
— ND —