March 9, 2003
Ocala, Fla. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team, making its first appearance outdoors for the spring, shot rounds of 300 and 284 for a 584 total to finish eighth in a field of 18 teams at the Big Red Classic. Sunday’s final 18 holes were cancelled due to rain in the Ocala, Fla., area. The tournament was played at the par 72, 6,625-yard Lake Diamond Golf and Country Club.
The Irish finished 23 strokes behind tournament leader Kent State for the abbreviated 36-hole tournament.. The Golden Flash fired rounds of 290 and 271 on Saturday for a 15-under par 561. They won the tournament by nine strokes over second-place Austin Peay (283-287-570). Miami (OH) finished third with a 571 (289-292), Xavier is fourth with a 573 (289-284) and North Carolina-Greensboro rounds out the top five with a 576 (292-284) as five teams finished at even par or better.
Individually, Notre Dame was paced by a pair of freshmen who tied for 18th with one-over par totals of 145. Eric Deutsch (Fr., Rochester, Minn.) and Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Irish over 36 holes as Deutsch fired an opening round 76 and followed with a 69 for his 145, while Gustafson shot 73-72 for the day.
The freshmen duo finished 11 strokes behind the tournament medalist – Korey Mahoney of Eastern Michigan – who finished with an impressive 10-under par 134 after shooting 64-70 on the par 72 course. He won the tournament by five strokes over three golfers tied for second. Eric Phipps of Miami (68-71), Adam Shanks of Austin Peay (68-71) and Ryan Yip of Kent State (71-68) all shot five-under par totals of 139. Tim Pemberton of William and Mary (69-71) and Gregg Blainey of North Carolina-Greensboro finished six shots back with four-under par 140s.
Following Deutsch and Gustafson for the Irish were senior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) and Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.) as both are tied for 30th at three-over par 147. Lunke had rounds of 74 and 73 while Balderston opened with a 77 and finished strong with a 70.
Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.) tied for 62nd with a 152 (78-74) and Ryan Marshall (So., Marco Island, Fla.) tied for 78th after rounds of 80 and 74 gave him a 10-over par 154.
The Irish will return to action on spring break on Friday, March 14 at the Conrad Rehling Invitational that will be played at the Capstone Country Club in Brookwood, Alabama. The tournament is a three day, 18 holes per day tournament that will begin at 8:00 a.m. each morning.
TEAM RESULTS (36 holes): 1. Kent State 290-271-561; 2. Austin Peay 283-287-570; 3. Miami (OH) 289-282-571; 4. Xavier 289-284-573; 5. North Carolina-Greensboro 292-294-576; 6. Indiana 295-287-582; 7. Eastern Michigan 290-293-583; 8. Notre Dame 300-284-584; 9. Michigan State 291-294-585; t10. James Madison 295-294-589; William and Mary 297-292-589; 12. Ball State 300-292-592; 13. IUPUI 301-293-594; 14. Bowling Green 302-296-598; 15. Akron 301-300-601; 16. Wright State 308-295-603; 17. Northern Illinois 306-300-606; 18. Ohio University 307-303-610.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 106): 1. Korey Mahoney (Eastern Michigan) 64-70-134; t2. Eric Phipps (Miami OH) 68-71-139; Adam Shanks (Austin Peay) 68-71-139; Ryan Yip (Kent State) 71-68-139; t5. Tim Pemberton (Wm.&Mary) 69-71-140; Gregg Blainey (NC-Greensboro) 71-69-140; 7. Eric Jorgenson (Michigan State) 69-72-141; 8. Barry Londeree (James Madison) 72-70-142; t9. Andy Bare (NC-Greensboro) 73-70-141; Joe Humston (Austin Peay) 69-74-143; Mark Weghorst (Miami OH) 74-69-143.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 106): t18. Eric Deutsch 76-69-145; Scott Gustafson 73-72-145; t30. Brandon Lunke 74-73-147; Tommy Balderston 77-70-147; t62. Mark Baldwin 78-74-152; t78. Ryan Marshall 80-74-154.