Oct. 28, 2007
UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship in PDF Format
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UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship
Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 29-30, 2007
8:30 a.m. (ET) Monday/TBA Tuesday
Forest Oaks Country Club • Greensboro, N.C.
Par 72/7,197 yards
Irish Wrap Up Fall Season With Trip To Greensboro
It’s been an unusual season for Notre Dame thus far, as the Irish have blended success in road trips to Minnesota and Duke with perplexing setbacks in their home tournament and a rain-shortened event at Vanderbilt last weekend. Notre Dame will hope to end its fall season on a high note, and in the process build momentum for the coming spring campaign, when it heads to Greensboro, N.C., Monday and Tuesday for the third annual UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship at Forest Oaks Country Club.
In spite of their up-and-down season, the Irish currently boast a 292.20 stroke average that ranks with the best marks in school history. Notre Dame has gotten its biggest contributions from its underclassmen, led by freshman Tyler Hock (72.00) and sophomore Doug Fortner (72.50), while junior Josh Sandman, a Greensboro native, has a 74.50 mark and has shot 73 or lower in eight of 10 rounds this season.
Quoting Coach Kubinski…
“Greensboro, similar to Duke, offers us another `bounce-back’ opportunity. We were obviously disappointed in having a rain-shortened event at Vanderbilt. We had a tough starting time draw in round one, but were playing well in round two. The heavy rain just made finishing even 36 holes impossible. We’ll put it behind us and are excited about Forest Oaks, not only because of its history, but because it’s also the home course of our own Josh Sandman.
“We’ll go with the same five as we did at Vanderbilt and expect to see a solid finish. In addition to Josh, I feel Greg Rodgers will play very well and Tyler Hock has been playing great, too. With Doug (Fortner) and Kyle (Willis), I think we’ll post four good scores each round, which is always the key.”
Dates and Times
Teams will play two rounds (36 holes) on Monday before returning for the final round on Tuesday morning. Monday’s rounds will feature a shotgun start with all teams scheduled to tee off at 8:30 a.m. (ET) — Notre Dame will be paired with Memphis and the College of Charleston for the first two rounds. A split-tee format will be used for Tuesday’s third round, with start times based upon the team standings at the conclusion of Monday’s action. The first teams will go off from the first and 10th tees at 8:30 a.m. (ET) and continuing at nine-minute intervals. All times and formats are tentative and subject to change.
Following The Irish
Live scoring for the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship will be provided through the Golfstat web site. In addition, complete results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (UND.com). The latest information from the tournament, including results, scheduling updates and weather delays, also will be available on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000).
Furthermore, results will be available via the Irish ALERT text-message system, which provides fans with regular updates on Notre Dame’s progress at the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship through text messages sent to their cell phone. For more information or to sign up, click here.
The Tournament Format
A total of 15 five-man teams (75 participants, plus a handful of additional golfers competing on an individual basis) will be taking part in the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship. Conventional collegiate golf team scoring rules will apply, with the lowest four scores in the five-man lineup for each round counting toward the team total. Scores by golfers competing on an individual basis do not count to the team score.
The Teams
Besides Notre Dame and tournament host UNC Greensboro, the remaining teams in the field for the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship are: Arkansas, Central Florida, College of Charleston, Indiana, Kent State, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Toledo and Wake Forest.
According to the Oct. 17 edition of the Golf World/Nike Golf Top 25 coaches’ poll, No. 14 Wake Forest is the only ranked team scheduled to take part in this week’s tournament. However, four other teams received votes in the latest coaches’ survey — Indiana (66 votes; tie-26th place), Louisville (53 votes; 28th), North Carolina (21 votes; 37th) and Arkansas (one vote; tie-48th).
Meanwhile, the Oct. 21 ratings in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index show that 11 of the top 50 Division I teams will be on hand for the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship. Leading the way is 17th-ranked Indiana, followed by No. 18 Wake Forest, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 23 North Carolina. Also on the first page of the Golfweek rankings are: No. 27 Louisville, No. 33 UCF, No. 37 Mississippi State, No. 39 Memphis, No. 43 Kent State, No. 47 LSU and No. 49 Notre Dame.
In addition, the Oct. 24 Golfstat rankings indicate eight of this week’s participants are appearing in that service’s Top 50. No. 8 Wake Forest sets the bar, with No. 22 Indiana and No. 24 North Carolina on the top half of the leaderboard. Five other squads — No. 26 UCF, No. 28 Arkansas, No. 36 Louisville, No. 39 Kent State and No. 40 Mississippi State — aren’t far off the pace.
Head-To-Head
Notre Dame has had some exposure with the rest of the participants in this week’s UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship. The Irish have a 5-4-1 (.550) record against the UNCG field — Arkansas (0-2), College of Charleston (1-0), Indiana (0-0-1), Louisville (0-1), Maryland (1-0), Mississippi State (0-1), UNC Greensboro (2-0) and Toledo (1-0). For the season, the Irish are 29-19-4 (.596), with a 4-12-1 (.265) record against Top 50 clubs (1-8-1 vs. the Top 25).
The Course
Forest Oaks is rated by PGA TOUR members as a favorite stop on the PGA TOUR. Carved from North Carolina hardwoods by noted architect Ellis Maples, Forest Oaks opened in 1962 to wide acclaim. It was already known as one of the best tests of golf in a state known for great golf tests when it became the home course of the venerable Greater Greensboro Open (now known as the Wyndham Championship) in 1977. As the golf course matured, alterations to the course were necessary. In 2002, the job of restoring the course to all its glory was assigned to Davis Love III’s Love Design Group. At its absolute longest length, it can play to more than 7,400 yards, although this week’s tournament will play a layout that measures just under 7,200 yards.
Noting The UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship
- Notre Dame will be making its first-ever appearance in the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship, which is in its third year of existence, but its first as a fall tournament.
- The Irish are playing in the state of North Carolina for the second time this fall. Back on Oct. 7-8, Notre Dame shot a season-low 857 (-7), the fifth-lowest score in school history, and finished third in the 15-team Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic, played at the Duke Golf Club in Durham, N.C.
- Junior Josh Sandman returns not only to his hometown of Greensboro, but also to his home course at Forest Oaks. Sandman graduated from Greensboro’s Southeast Guilford High School in 2005 after winning the Class 3A individual state title as a senior (first in school history) and leading his team to a share of first place in the state finals (lost on a scorecard playoff). Sandman was a two-time all-state and four-time all-conference selection, with his 2003 all-state plaque being the first by a Southeast Guilford golfer in 21 years.
- Senior tri-captain Eddie Peckels now resides in Pinehurst, N.C., having moved there just before beginning his freshman year at Notre Dame.
- Fourth-year Irish head coach Jim Kubinski spent a year and a half (2003-04) as an assistant coach with the men’s and women’s golf teams at Duke. During his tenure, the Blue Devil women were ranked No. 1 in the nation, won the 2004 NCAA East Regional title and finished third at the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, the Duke men placed 12th at the ’04 NCAA East Regional (just missing advancement to the national finals) and were ranked 13th at the end of the fall 2004 season.
Last Time Out: Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate
Mother Nature turned out to be the only real winner, as persistent heavy rain wiped out the final two rounds of the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate on Oct. 23 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee/Roper’s Knob Course (par 71/7,100 yards) in Franklin, Tenn. Tournament officials declared the first-round results would serve as the final standings for the event, with Notre Dame tying for eighth place in the 18-team field after carding an eight-over par 292. Ole Miss edged in-state rival Mississippi State by one stroke with a score of 283 (-1) to take the team title, while Augusta State’s Jake Amos was the tournament medalist by virtue of its opening-round 67 (-4).
Freshman Tyler Hock was the top Irish individual, tying for 13th place with an opening-round 71 (E). Junior Josh Sandman tied for 32nd place after shooting a two-over par 73. Sophomores Doug Fortner and Kyle Willis ended up one shot further back in a tie for 41st place. Senior tri-captain Greg Rodgers tied for 77th place following his first-round 78 (+7). Senior tri-captain Mike King played as an individual participant and wound up in 87th place at nine-over par 80.
Young Guns
Notre Dame has gotten a significant boost from its underclassmen, with its two lowest scorers (and four of the top five) being either freshmen or sophomores. Rookie Tyler Hock is setting the pace for the Irish so far this season with a 72.00 average, followed by sophomore Doug Fortner, who has a 72.50 stroke rate while posting three top-20 finishes in four outings. Freshman Jeff Chen has seen action in one “B” event and once as an individual, amassing a 73.33 average that is fourth-best on the team, while sophomore Kyle Willis rounds out the five best stroke averages for Notre Dame with a 73.86 mark.
Captains Courageous
Notre Dame’s three seniors have been selected as team captains for the 2007-08 season. Mike King, Eddie Peckels and Greg Rodgers all are serving in that capacity for the first time in their careers.
The .500 Rule
According to a new rule passed by the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee, teams must finish their season with a winning head-to-head record (i.e. better than .500) in order to be considered for a berth in postseason play.
Things You Should Know About The Irish
- Notre Dame has won six BIG EAST Conference titles in its 12-year league affiliation, stringing together three consecutive crowns from 1995-97 and again from 2004-06. The Irish also have made 33 NCAA postseason appearances in their history (most recently in 2006 with a trip to the NCAA East Regional), winning the 1944 national title and finishing second in 1937.
- Notre Dame has taken its play to new levels in recent years, posting three of the top seven single-season stroke averages in school history since head coach Jim Kubinski took over as head coach in January 2005. The Irish also have carded nine of the top 12 tournament scores (54 holes) in program history during the Kubinski era, including a school-record 842 (-22) at the 2006 BIG EAST Championship.
- Notre Dame’s impressive resurgence of late has been augmented by its play against nationally-ranked opponents. In fact, since Kubinski arrived under the Golden Dome, the Irish have defeated 13 Top 25 teams (according to Golfweek) and posted 14 top-five tournament finishes, including three event titles (most recently the ’06 BIG EAST Championship).
- Kubinski himself was nominated for a place on the 2007 GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teachers List, after being placed into consideration by the Indiana Section of the PGA. Approximately 400-500 people are chosen annually from the 30,000 PGA professionals nationwide for a few select places on the GOLF Magazine list, whose membership includes such notables as Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter and Rick Smith.
Next Up: John Hayt Collegiate Invitational (Feb. 17-19)
Notre Dame opens its spring season at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 17-19, 2008, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The Irish tied for 13th in last year’s event, which is hosted by North Florida at the Sawgrass Country Club.