Sept. 10, 2004
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Notre Dame men’s golf team teed off the 2004-05 season in impressive fashion on Friday, taking a share of the lead after one round of the Inverness Intercollegiate before slipping a bit to fifth place after 36 holes. The Irish fired an 26-over par 594 (294-300) and stand 13 strokes behind tourney leader Michigan State entering Saturday’s final round at the famed Inverness Club (par-71, 6,790 yards) in Toledo, Ohio. Notre Dame’s current position is particularly encouraging since 10 of the 13 teams in the field competed in the NCAA regionals last year.
Picking up right where he left off in the 2004 NCAA Central Regional, junior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) carded a two-over par 144 (69-75) to tie for fourth place after two rounds. Deutsch, who tied for 27th at the NCAA event, fired the fifth sub-70 round of his career during the morning session, coming one stroke shy of his career-low round (68 at the 2002 SMU/Stonebridge Invitational). His score helped the Irish draw even with Michigan State and Kent State after the first round with a score of 294 (+6). Deutsch will go into Saturday’s third round trailing tournament leader John Holmes of Kentucky by five shots.
Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) also was a mainstay for Notre Dame on Friday, moving into a 17th-place tie at six-over par 148 (73-75). Meanwhile, sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) is tied for 27th place at nine-over par 151 (78-73), and freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s) had an encouraging college debut, shooting an 11-over par 153 (74-79) and tying for 38th place. Junior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) completed the Irish scoring in a tie for 54th place at 17-over par 159 (82-77).
Notre Dame will look to cap off its best-ever performance at the Inverness Intercollegiate when it returns to the links Saturday at 2 p.m. (EDT). The Irish have not finished higher than 14th in their previous two trips to Toledo, and their lowest single-round score prior to Friday was a 305.
— ND —
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Michigan State 581 (294-287); 2. (tie) Kentucky 585 (296-289) and Kent State 585 (294-291); 4. Georgia Southern 593 (304-289); 5. NOTRE DAME 594 (294-300); 6. Central Florida 595 (303-292); 7. Illinois 599 (296-303); 8. Toledo 600 (307-293); 9. Augusta State 606 (305-301); 10. (tie) Alabama-Birmingham 608 (304-304) and Kansas State 608 (308-300); 12. Northwestern 614 (311-303); 13. Eastern Michigan 621 (319-302).
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS (of 66): 1. John Holmes (Kentucky) 139 (74-65); 2. Andrew Ruthkoski (Michigan State) 141 (70-71); 3. Peter Laws (Kent State) 142 (71-71); 4. (tie) Eric Deutsch (Notre Dame) 144 (69-75) and Mark Blakefield (Kentucky) 144 (73-71); 6. (tie) Stefan Wistorf (Central Florida) 145 (73-72), Garrett Chaussard (Illinois) 145 (71-74), Steve Lohmeyer (Kent State) 145 (76-69) and Jimmy Chestnut (Michigan State) 145 (70-75).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 66): 4. (tie) Eric Deutsch 144 (69-75); 17. (tie) Scott Gustafson 148 (73-75); 27. (tie) Cole Isban 151 (78-73); 38. (tie) Greg Rodgers 153 (74-79); 54. (tie) Mark Baldwin 159 (82-77).