Sept. 24, 2002
Lawrence, Kan. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team turned in its best round of the fall season on Tuesday afternoon firing a nine-over par 297 to finish ninth at the Kansas Invitational with a 40-over par 904. The Irish started the day in 13th-place after an opening 36-hole total of 303-304-607.
Baylor University, who scorched the par-72, 6,950-yard Alvamar Golf Club on Monday with a 12-under par 564, shot a final round of 299 for a one-under par 863. That gave the Bears a nine-stroke win over the University of Kansas, as the Jayhawks turned in the best round of the day, a four-over par 292. They finished with an 872 total. Wichita State (290-289-297-876), Iowa State (293-293-294-880) and Northern Iowa (302-293-291-886) rounded out the top five teams in the tournament.
Individually, Baylor’s Ryan Baca led from start-to-finish to take a three-stroke win over Northern Iowa’s Mike Lewis and Kansas’ Chris Marshall. Baca opened the tournament with back-to-back 68’s on Monday and finished with a one-over par 73 on Tuesday for a seven-under par final mark of 212. Lewis (74-69-69) closed with his second consecutive 69 for his four-under 212, while Marshall was consistent with three subpar rounds (71-71-70).
Julien Trudeau (Wichita State) and Zach Atkinson (North Texas) rounded out the group of five golfers who finished the tournament under par. Trudeau started with a 76, but shot 70 and 68 in his final two rounds for a two-over par 214. Atkinson went into the final round two shots off the lead after rounds of 67 and 71 on Monday, but fired a five-over par 77 to finish one-under at 215.
For the Irish, Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), was Notre Dame’s top finisher as he tied for 17th with a three-over par 219. Gustafson shot 75-69 for the first 36 holes and finished with a 75 for the final round of play.
Tommy Balderston (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) and Gavin Ferlic (Jr., South Bend, Ind.) followed Gustafson as both were part of a nine-way tie for 46th with 12-over par totals of 228. Balderston (75-79-74) shot the best round of his Irish career in the final 18 holes, while Ferlic (77-78-73) had the best round for the Irish on Tuesday with a one-over par 73,
Rounding out the Irish golfers were freshmen Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.) and Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.). Deutsch (76-78-75) tied for 55th with a 54-hole total of 229. Baldwin (77-81-76) was 64th in the tourney with a 234 total.
The Irish are now off for 16 days before returning to action on Oct. 10-11 when they travel to Fresno, Calif. to participate in the Fresno Lexus Golf Classic.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54 holes): 1. Baylor 285-279-299-863; 2. Kansas 293-287-292-872; 3. Wichita State 290-289-297-876; 4. Iowa State 293-293-294-880; 5. Northern Iowa 302-293-291-886; 6. Missouri 296-301-293-890; 7. Drake 298-297-296-891; 8. North Texas State 288-303-312-903; 9. Notre Dame 303-304-297-904; t10. S.W. Missouri State 305-289-311-905; Oral Roberts 299-302-304-905; Illinois State 308-298-299-905; 13. Nebraska 309-304-295-908; 14. Univ. Missouri-Kansas City 305-301-304-910.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 80): 1. Ryan Baca (Baylor) 68-68-73-209; t2. Mike Lewis (No. Iowa) 74-69-69-212; Chris Marshall (Kansas) 71-71-70-212; 4. Julien Trudeau (Wichita State) 76-70-68-214; 5. Zach Atkinson (No. Texas) 67-71-77-215; 6. Pete Krsnich (Kansas) 74-66-77-217; Derek Butts (Drake) 73-73-71-217; Jeremy Lyons (Iowa State) 71-74-72-217; 9. Brian Anderson (Illinois State) 75-74-69-218; Jason Novascone (Wichita State) 70-75-73-218; Kevin Oswald (Iowa State) 72-72-74-218; Will Doughtie (Baylor) 71-71-76-218.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 80): t17. Scott Gustafson 75-69-75-219; t46. Tommy Balderston 75-79-74-218; Gavin Ferlic 77-78-73-218; t55. Eric Deutsch 76-78-75-219; t64. Mark Baldwin 77-81-76-234.