Feb. 27, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Tulane Invitational
Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 28-March 1, 2005
7:30 a.m. (CT) Mon./8 a.m. (CT) Tues.
English Turn Golf & Country Club
(7,078 Yards, Par 72)
New Orleans, La.
Irish Open Spring Season This Week In New Orleans
The Notre Dame men’s golf team will tee off its spring schedule, as well as the Jim Kubinski era, Monday and Tuesday when it participates in the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans. The tournament is the first of eight on the 2005 Irish spring docket, and the start of a stretch of events on three consecutive weekends for Notre Dame.
Kubinski makes his debut as Irish head coach this weekend after arriving in South Bend last month. He comes to town after a successful one and one-half year stint as the assistant men’s and women’s golf coach at perennial national contender Duke.
Quoting Coach Kubinski
“We’re heading off to the Bayou this week with every intention of enjoying some Cajun cooking and bringing home the trophy Tuesday evening. While most of the field will have had the edge in preparation time (as there are a number of Southeastern teams), I like the way we’re swinging the golf club. The key for us will be how quickly our short games catch up to our swing progress. Typically, the scoring shots take a bit longer to show up. If we can get off to a good start, I’m feel comfortable in saying that we can contend for the title.
“Cole Isban is playing very well (shot 69-72 in ND’s Alumni Match last weekend). Our three juniors (Eric Deutsch, Tommy Balderston and Mark Baldwin) add experience to the lineup. The wildcard right now is freshman Eddie Peckels, who is making his collegiate travel squad debut. Eddie showed great form in our Alumni Match, firing a two-under par 70. Go Irish!”
Dates and Times
Teams will play two rounds (36 holes) on Monday, with the opening round teeing off via a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. (CT). The second round will also utilize the shotgun start format approximately 90 minutes after the conclusion of the first round. Competitors will then return Tuesday morning for the final round, which will begin at 8 a.m. (CT) with a shotgun start.
Tournament Updates/Results
No live scoring will be available for this tournament. However, complete results following each day’s action will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com). In addition, all the latest information on the Irish is available on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000). Callers should select option #9, then press #2 for the latest information on the tournament, as well as any weather or scheduling delays.
The Tournament Format
A total of 14 five-man teams (75 participants, including five individuals) will be participating in the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational. Conventional collegiate golf team scoring rules apply, with the lowest four individual scores in each round counting toward the team total.
The Teams
This year’s NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational features a 14-team field that includes the following squads: Tulane A, Tulane B, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, New Orleans, Notre Dame, UNC Wilmington, South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa and West Florida.
Only one team in this week’s field is receiving votes in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA)/Bridgestone Coaches’ Poll (as of Feb. 25). Tulsa is garnering six points, which would puts the Golden Hurricane in a tie with Kansas and Lamar for 37th place nationally if the poll were extended.
In the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ratings (as of Feb. 18), Mississippi is the highest-rated team at No. 30. No other squad is appearing in Golfweek/Sagarin top 50, although Tulsa is knocking on the door at No. 51, and Notre Dame isn’t far behind at No. 57.
This season, the Irish have posted a 2-0 record against the field at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational, earning wins over Tulsa (Notre Dame Invitational/Central Regional Preview) and West Florida (The Nelson Invitational) during the fall 2004 campaign.
The Course
This week’s NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational will be played at the English Turn Golf & Country Club (par 72/7,078 yards) in New Orleans, La. The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout opened in 1988 and located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Termed “one of the top 10 courses on the PGA Tour” by the legendary Greg Norman, English Turn is the site of the PGA Tour’s Compaq Classic.
Irish At The NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational
Notre Dame is making its first-ever appearance at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational this week. In fact, it will mark the first time the Irish have ever competed in a tournament held in the state of Louisiana.
Irish Lineup
Notre Dame continues to field one of the youngest lineups in the country. As has been the case for much of the past two seasons, the Irish do not have any seniors among their starting five. However, don’t confuse this youth with inexperience. Of the five Notre Dame players competing at this week’s NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane Invitational, four were in the lineup at last year’s NCAA Central Regional. This week’s starting quintet also has a combined total of 262 collegiate rounds under their belts, including three players with at least 60 rounds to their credit.
Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind.) started in all five fall tournaments for the Irish this year, posting a sharp 73.33 stroke average. He also placed among the top five in two of those tournaments, including an impressive runner-up finish at The Prestige at PGA WEST, an event he led until the final few holes. A 2004 U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier, Isban has logged a 74.65 career stroke average, the fifth-best mark in school history, and has five top-10 finishes in his brief collegiate career.
Junior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.) emerged as a solid contributor for Notre Dame during last season’s spring schedule, culminating with his fifth-place finish at the BIG EAST Conference Championship (earning him all-league honors) and team-best 27th-place showing at the NCAA Central Regional. After winning a pair of tournaments last summer, Deutsch returned to campus energized and was a mainstay in the Irish lineup this past fall, carding a 75.27 stroke average with 13 of his 15 competitive rounds counting to the team score and nine of those rounds coming in at 75 or under.
Junior Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.) started one tournament for the Irish in the fall, but also saw action in two events as an unattached individual, registering a 74.44 stroke average. A two-time all-BIG EAST selection, he earned medalist honors for the first time in his career back in September at the John Dallio Memorial Invitational in suburban Chicago, firing a three-under par 213 (72-67-74) to outdistance the 75-man field. His second-round 67 also matched the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
Junior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.) narrowly missed giving Notre Dame a second two-time all-conference pick after placing eighth at last year’s BIG EAST Championship. Like Balderston, Baldwin appeared in three tournaments this past fall, going off once with the Irish starting five and twice as an individual competitor en route to a 75.33 stroke average. In his last outing at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational in early October, Baldwin equaled the best finish of his career with a fifth-place tie after carding a personal-best four-over par 214 (72-71-71).
Freshman Eddie Peckels (Pinehurst, N.C.) is the third different Notre Dame rookie to crack the starting lineup this season, following in the footsteps of classmates Mike King (Sidney, Ohio) and Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md.). Peckels participated in two tournaments during the fall, both as an individual, and posted a strong 72.83 stroke average with all six of his rounds ending up at 75 or lower. He wound up finishing in the top 20 of both events he played in, including a tie for seventh place at the Yestingsmeier Invitational with a five-over par 215 (72-73-70).
Last Tournament –
The Prestige at PGA WEST Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind.) had a two-stroke lead midway through the final round of The Prestige at PGA WEST, but came up just a bit short, finishing second at the final tournament of the fall season for the Irish on Nov. 2, 2004. Isban wound up carding a 54-hole score of three-over par 219 (72-74-73), placing two shots behind medalist Erik Hill of UC Davis at the two-day event, which was held in La Quinta, Calif., at the par-72, 7,156-yard Greg Norman Course at the famed PGA WEST complex. Isban’s second-place finish was the best of his career, surpassing the tie for third place he registered at the 2004 BIG EAST Conference Championship, and it was the third top-five finish of his young career.
In the team standings, Notre Dame jumped two spots during the final round, winding up tied for 10th place with Oregon at 70-over par 934 (311-322-301). The Irish actually were on pace to shoot the low round of the day, sitting at one-over par through 13 holes, but some late black marks on the scorecard halted their charge. UCLA successfully defended its tournament title, winning by nine strokes over the event’s co-host UC Davis.
Freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md.) and junior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.) both tied for 49th place with matching scores of 23-over par 239. Rodgers tallied rounds of 79, 83 and 77, while Deutsch bounced back from two tough opening rounds with a final-round 73, highlighted by an eagle at No. 11, the second eagle by an Irish player in the tournament.
Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) ended the tournament in a 57th-place tie at 26-over par 242 (81-83-78), while freshman Mike King (Sidney, Ohio) completed the Notre Dame scoring with a tie for 61st place at 27-over par 243 (79-84-80).
The Sandman Cometh
Notre Dame announced Dec. 16 that Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford HS), has chosen to continue his career with the Irish, signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2005. Sandman is the first player to commit to the Irish for the 2005-06 season.
A standout on the junior golf circuit, Sandman is ranked as the 32nd-best player in the graduating class of 2005, according to the Titleist/Golfweek rankings released in mid-December. The 6-foot-1 Sandman owns a national junior scoring average of 72.69 in 23 rounds and has four top-three finishes to his credit in the last calendar year. His best efforts include a tie for second place at the 2003-04 North Carolina State High School Championships, a tie for third place at the 2004 Golfweek Invitational and a third-place showing at the 2004 Carolina Golf Association Junior Championships. He also works regularly under the watchful eye of Greensboro-area instructor Kelly Phillips.
Sandman is the son of Michael and Dawn Sandman of Greensboro, and he has three brothers (ages 21, 19 and 13).
Bringing In The Closers
The Irish have posted their best team scores during the final round of tournament play this year, carding a 297.20 over the last 18 holes. Leading the charge in the third round have been sophomore Cole Isban (73.20) and junior Mark Baldwin (74.33).
Next For The Irish
Notre Dame will play host to the Irish Spring Invitational March 7-8 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., at the Mission Inn Resort (El Campeon Course). It’s the second of four tournaments the Irish are hosting during the 2004-05 season, but the only one that will take place away from the Notre Dame campus. A total of 13 teams will compete in the Irish Spring Invitational, which is being co-sponsored by the Central Florida Sports Commission.