Oct. 7, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closed a rainy opening round with a solid finish down the stretch Sunday at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic at the Warren Golf Course.
Play was suspended for nearly 45 minutes during the afternoon due to inclement weather. After the brief delay, teams returned to where their previous shots laid to complete the round.
Senior Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) was unfazed by the delay, paring 15 holes on his day. McNamara knocked in a birdie at the 565-yard, par-5 17th hole to post an even-par 71 and claim a share of sixth place.
Junior Andrew Carreon (San Antonio, Texas), in his first start of the season, logged a two-over 73 to tie for 18th place. Carreon birdied the par-3 fourth hole and the par-4 eighth hole to highlight his back nine.
In his first career appearance with Notre Dame, freshman Zach Toste (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) wrapped up his opening day with a three-over par 74. Toste birdied a pair of holes on his front nine to earn a share of 28th place.
Houston’s Curtis Reed and UT-Arlington’s Paul McConnell set the pace on day one, carding matching two-under par 69s to share the lead. San Francisco’s Jobim Carlos and Michigan State’s Carson Castellani and Matthew Moseley shared third-place honors with one-under 70s. McNamara led five players tied for sixth place at 71.
No. 38 Houston and Michigan State posted matching scores of three-over par, 287 to share the overall team lead. UT-Arlington used birdies from McConnell on his final two holes to claim third place at 288 (+4). San Francisco (292, +8) and Toledo (294, +10) rounded out the top-five. Due to the threat of frost overnight in the Michiana area, the second round of the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. (ET) Monday.
–ND–