April 6, 2002
Huntington, W.Va. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team equalled the top round of the day with an eight-over par 292 to move up five spots and tie for 11th with a 54-hole total of 900 (308-300-292) at the 33rd Marshall Invitational. The Irish finished 23 strokes behind tournament champion Toledo as the Rockets also shot a final-round 292 on the way to an 877 (289-296-292) total.
Toledo won the tournament by seven strokes over the University of Illinois as the Illini closed with a 296 to finish with an 884 for 54 holes. Ohio State was third with an 888 (298-295-295) mark with Kentucky (296-295-298) and Eastern Kentucky (302-291-296) just a stroke behind in fourth with 889 totals.
The tournament, played at the par 71, 6,446-yard Guyan Golf and Country Club, was delayed for two hours on Saturday morning to allow an inch of snow that fell overnight to melt before play could begin.
Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) paced the Irish firing the only subpar round of the day with a one-under par 70. That gave Ratay a seven-over par 220 after rounds of 78 and 72 on Friday and moved him into a tie for ninth, his fourth top-10 finish of the season. He will go into his final career tournament – the BIG EAST Tournament – with the best single-season average (72.81) at Notre Dame. He will also have the chance to finish with the best average in school history as he is currently second with a 74.49 average, just .06 behind Charles Thurn (1956-58), who had a 74.43 career average.
Ratay finished seven strokes behind tournament champion John Holmes of Kentucky who was the only golfer to finish at par or better with an even-par 213. Holmes shot three consecutive rounds of even-par 71 for the title. He finished four strokes ahead of Doug Wade of Ohio State (73-73-71) and Geoff Lound of Illinois (77-67-73) who shot 217 totals. Three golfers – Jon Turcott (Wisconsin), Erik Herberth (Ohio University) and Kenny Cook (Ball State) – round out the top six golfers with 218 totals.
Also having strong final rounds for Notre Dame were freshman Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.) and senior Chris Whitten (Rockford, Mich.) as each had their best rounds of the spring with two-over par 73’s. Marshall tied for 25th with an 11-over par 224 (76-75-73) and Whitten shot rounds of 78 and 75 on Friday to go with his 73 for a 226 total.
Freshman K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.) tied for 74th with a 54-hole total of 233 (76-78-79) and Brandon Lunke (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) was 78th with a 234 (79-79-76).
The Irish close out the 2001-02 golf schedule in two weeks when they play host to the BIG EAST Championship which will be held at the Warren Golf Course on April 20-21. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in May.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54 holes): 1. Toledo 289-296-292-877, 2. Illinois 295-293-296-884, 3. Ohio State 298-295-295-888, t4. Kentucky 296-295-298-889, Eastern Kentucky 302-291-296-889, 6. Ohio University 298-295-300-893, 7. Michigan 295-301-298-894, 8. Xavier 299-299-300-897, t9. Indiana 302-301-295-898, Wisconsin 298-299-301-898, t11. Notre Dame 308-300-292-900, Iowa 306-296-298-900, 13. Louisville 308-299-296-903, 14. Marshall 300-302-302-904, 15. Bowling Green 311-300-300-911, 16. Ball State 302-302-309-913, 17. Miami (OH) 301-304-310-915, 18. Eastern Michigan 312-307-309-928, 19. Wright State 316-305-316-937, 20. Akron 318-304-317-939.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 104): 1. John Holmes (Kentucky) 71-71-71-213, t2. Dough Wade (Ohio State) 73-73-71-217, Geoff Lound (Illinois) 77-67-73-217, t4. Jon Turcott (Wisconsin) 72-74-72-218, Erik Herberth (Ohio University) 73-72-73-218, Kenny Cook (Ball State) 70-71-77-218, t7. Alan Murray (Toledo) 70-78-71-219, Josh Crutcher (Eastern Kentucky) 74-74-71-219, t9. Steve Ratay (Notre Dame) 78-72-70-220, Andrew Chapman (Michigan) 69-75-76-220, David Jones (Toledo) 74-72-74-220.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 104): t9. Steve Ratay 78-72-70-220: t25. Ryan Marshall 76-75-73-224, t37. Chris Whitten 78-75-73-226, t74. K.C. Wiseman 76-78-79-233, t78. Brandon Lunke 79-79-76-234.