Oct. 21, 2002
McKinney, Texas – The Notre Dame men’s golf team fired its two best rounds of the fall, shooting rounds of 289 and 295, for an eight-over par team total of 584 after 36 holes at the 2002 Stonebridge Invitational. The tournament, which is being hosted by Southern Methodist University, is being played at the par 72, 7,257-yard Dye Course at Stonebridge Country Club.
The 584 ties the Irish for fifth-place with Arkansas-Little Rock and puts them 15 strokes behind tourney leader Baylor. The Bears shot rounds of 283 and 286 for a seven-under par total of 569. They will go into Tuesday’s final round of play with a three-shot lead over Lamar University (287-285-572). Arkansas is third overall, nine strokes off the lead, after a pair of 289’s for a 578. Texas Tech is fourth with a 580 (296-294) to round out the top five.
Individually, Andrew Dahl (Arkansas) and Jamie McCleary (Baylor) are tied for the 36-hole lead with five-under par totals of 139. McCleary led after the first round with a five-under 67, but shot 72 in the afternoon round for his 139. Dahl shot 71-68 for his 139.
Third-place belongs to Ryan Baca (Baylor) who is two strokes behind the leaders with a 141 after rounds of 71-70. There is a three-way tie for fourth and involves Notre Dame freshman Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.). Balderston shot a three-under par 69 and was two strokes behind after 18 holes. He followed that with a second round 73 for his two-under par 142, three strokes off the tournament lead.
Tied with Balderston are two golfers from Lamar – Chris Stroud and Mark Van Hoose. Stroud turned in rounds of 70-72 and Van Hoose shot 73-69 for their 142 totals.
Following Balderston for the Irish was fellow freshman Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn.) who goes into the final round of play tied for 15th with a one-over par total of 143. Deutsch was actually one stroke off the lead after 18 holes, and a stroke ahead of Balderston, after a four-under par 68. He shot 77 in the afternoon for his 145. The 68 was the lowest round of Deutsch’s career and the lowest round by a Notre Dame golfer this season.
Rounding out the Irish lineup are Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.) and Brandon Lunke (Sr., San Antonio, Tex.). Gustafson is tied for 38th after rounds of 77 and 71 for a four-over par 148. Baldwin shot rounds of 76 and 74 for a 150 total and is tied for 44th. Lunke is tied for 61st with a 36-hole total of 153 after rounds of 76 and 77. Sophomore Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.) is also playing in the tournament as an individual and is 73rd after rounds of 86 and 75 for a 161.
The final round of play will begin at 8:00 a.m. (CDT) with scheduled tee times at the Dye Course. Groups will begin play at holes one and 10 for the final round.
TEAM RESULTS (36 holes): 1. Baylor 283-286-569; 2. Lamar 287-285-572; 3. Arkansas 289-289-578; 4. Texas Tech 296-284-580; t5. Notre Dame 289-295-584; Arkansas-Little Rock 294-290-584; 7. SMU-JV 294-291-585; 8. Iowa State 289-297-586; t9. Texas-Arlington 294-296-590; Southern Methodist 300-290-590; 11. Western Kentucky 302-291-593; t12. Southeastern Louisiana 300-295-595; Louisiana-Lafayette 303-292-595; Kent State 303-3-4-607.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 76): t1. Andrew Dahl (Arkansas) 71-68-139; Jamie McLeary (Baylor) 67-72-139; 3. Ryan Baca (Baylor) 71-70-141; t4. Tommy Balderston (Notre Dame) 69-73-142; Chris Stroud (Lamar) 70-72-142; Mark Van Hoose (Lamar) 73-69-142; t7. Jeremy Lyons (Iowa State) 71-72-143; Ben McCaslin (SMU-JV) 73-70-142; Matt Larson (Lamar) 71-72-143; 10. Brooks Kelly (Texas Tech) 73-71-144; Peter Laws (Kent State) 70-74-144.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 76): t4. Tommy Balderston 69-73-142; t15. Eric Deutsch 68-77-145; t38. Scott Gustafson 77-71-148; t44. Mark Baldwin 76-74-150; t61. Brandon Lunke 76-77-153; 73. Ryan Marshall 86-75-161.