Sept. 11, 2004
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Notre Dame men’s golf team held its position on the final day of the Inverness Intercollegiate, finishing in a tie for fifth place at the 13-team tournament. The Irish were particularly consistent on Saturday, as all four golfers whose scores counted carded four-over par 75s, giving Notre Dame a three-day score of 42-over par 894 (294-300-300). Kentucky won the tournament by eight strokes, shooting a 25-over par 877 at the famed Inverness Club (par-71, 7,255 yards) in Toledo, Ohio.
It was a strong opening tournament for Notre Dame, competing in an event that included 10 of 13 teams which reached the NCAA Regionals last season. In addition, the Irish registered their best-ever finish and single-round scores at this year’s Inverness Intercollegiate. In two previous appearances, Notre Dame had not placed higher than 14th and its lowest team score was 307, a mark the Irish topped in all three rounds this weekend.
Juniors Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) shared team-high scoring honors, tying for 17th place at 10-over par 223. Gustafson carded rounds of 73-75-75 to log the 12th team-best tournament finish of his career, which is fourth in school history. Meanwhile, Deutsch stumbled a bit in the final round, posting rounds of 69-75-79 after entering the day in a fourth-place tie.
Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) was tied for 25th place with a 13-over par 226 (78-73-75), while freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s) rose to a 31st-place draw at 15-over 228 (74-79-75). Junior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) completed the Notre Dame lineup, improving each round to end up in a 47th-place deadlock at 21-over par 234 (82-77-75).
The Irish will return to the links Friday-Sunday, Sept. 17-19, when they play host to the inaugural Notre Dame Invitational & Central Regional Preview. Friday’s first round will be contested at Lost Dunes Golf Club in Bridgman, Mich., while the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday will take place at the Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus.
— ND —
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54 holes): 1. Kentucky 877 (296-289-292); 2. Michigan State 885 (294-287-304); 3. (tie) Kent State 886 (294-291-301) and Georgia Southern 886 (304-289-293); 5. (tie) NOTRE DAME 894 (294-300-300) and Central Florida 894 (303-292-299); 7. Illinois 900 (296-303-301); 8. Toledo 904 (307-293-304); 9. Kansas State 907 (308-300-299); 10. Northwestern 909 (311-303-295); 11. Augusta State 914 (305-301-308); 12. Alabama-Birmingham 918 (304-304-310); 13. Eastern Michigan 922 (319-302-301).
TOP SEVEN INDIVIDUALS (of 66): 1. John Holmes (Kentucky) 213 (74-65-74); 2. Peter Laws (Kent State) 214 (71-71-72); 3. Mark Blakefield (Kentucky) 215 (73-71-71); 4. Aron Price (Georgia Southern) 216 (76-70-70); 5. (tie) Brandon Waldrop (Kentucky) 218 (74-73-71), Tyler Riley (Toledo) 218 (77-69-72) and Andrew Ruthkoski (Michigan State) 218 (70-71-77).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 66): 17. (tie) Scott Gustafson 223 (73-75-75) and Eric Deutsch 223 (69-75-79); 25. (tie) Cole Isban 226 (78-73-75); 31. (tie) Greg Rodgers 228 (74-79-75); 47. (tie) Mark Baldwin 234 (82-77-75).