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Men's Golf Is 16th After 36 Holes At The Marshall Invitational

April 5, 2002

Huntington, W.Va. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closed out the first day of competition at the 33rd annual Marshall Invitational in 16th place after turning in a 36-hole total of 608 (308-300). That puts the Irish 23 strokes behind second-round leader Toledo as the Rockets posted a 17-over par total of 585 after rounds of 289 and 296.

For the 20-team field, just 12 strokes separate the top nine teams on the par 71, 6,446-yard Guyan Golf and Country Club. Just three strokes behind Toledo is the University of Illinois with a 588 (295-293) followed by Kentucky with a 591 (296-295) in third and Ohio University (298-295), Ohio State (298-295) and Eastern Kentucky (302-291) all tied for fourth with 593 totals.

Individually, 12 golfers are within five strokes of the leader – Ball State’s Kenny Cook – who had the only subpar round of the tournament with a one-under par 141. Cook fired an opening round 70 and followed with a 71 for the second round. He leads Kentucky’s John Holmes by one shot as Holmes turned in an even-par 142 with a pair of 71’s. Geoff Lound of Illinois (77-67) and Andrew Chapman of Michigan (69-75) are tied for fourth with two-over par 144 totals. Three golfers are tied for fifth, four strokes off the pace with 145 totals.

For the Irish, senior Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) had the team’s best day on Friday finishing tied for 27th with an eight-over par 150. Ratay opened with a 78 and then rebounded with a 72 in the afternoon round. He is followed by freshman Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.) who is tied for 34th, one stroke behind Ratay with a nine-over par 151 (76-75).

Senior Chris Whitten (Rockford, Mich.) was third among Irish golfers as he tied for 57th with an 11-over par 153 (78-75). K.C. Wiseman (Fr., South Bend, Ind.) tied for 64th with a 36-hole total of 154 (76-78) and junior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) rounded out the Irish fivesome as he is tied for 92nd after shooting a pair of 79’s for a 158.

The final round of play at the Marshall Invitational is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday with a shotgun start.

TEAM RESULTS (36 holes): 1. Toledo 289-296-585, 2. Illinois 295-293-588, 3. Kentucky 296-295-591, t4. Ohio University 298-295-593, Ohio State 298-295-593, Eastern Kentucky 302-291-593, 7. Michigan 295-301-596, t8. Xavier 299-298-597, Wisconsin 298-299-597, t10. Marshall 300-302-602, Iowa 306-296-602, 12. Indiana 302-301-603, 13. Ball State 302-302-604, 14. Miami (OH) 301-305-606, 15. Louisville 308-299-607, 16. Notre Dame 308-300-608, 17. Bowling Green 311-300-611, 18. Eastern Michigan 312-307-609, 19. Wright St. 316-305-621, 20. Akron 318-304-622.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 104): 1. Kenny Cook (Ball State) 70-71-141, 2. John Holmes (Kentucky) 71-71-142, t3. Geoff Lound (Illinois) 77-67-144, Andrew Chapman (Michigan) 69-75-144, t5. Erik Herberth (Ohio University) 73-72-145, Tyler Stith (Iowa) 73-72-145, Neal Grusczynski (Xavier) 72-73-145, t8. Doug Wade (Ohio State) 73-73-146, John Turcott (Wisconsin) 72-74-146, Aaron Bickle (Ohio University) 71-75-146.

NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 104): t27. Steve Ratay 78-72-150: t34. Ryan Marshall 76-75-151, t57. Chris Whitten 78-75-153, t64. K.C. Wiseman 76-78-154, t92. Brandon Lunke 79-79-158.