March 30, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team turned in its top two rounds of the spring, firing rounds of 295 and 292, to give the Irish a 54-hole total of 893 at the Johnny Owens Invitational on Saturday. The 41-over par total gave the Irish a 14th-place tie with the University of Wisconsin on the par 71, 6,552-yard University Club of Kentucky, 36 shots off the pace set by tournament winner Purdue. The Boilermakers finished with a five-over par total of 857 after rounds of 294-285-279.
For the Irish, the 893 was their best 54-hole total of the spring, and the second best mark this season since Notre Dame shot an 873 in October at the Xavier Provident Invitational.
Purdue took the tournament championship by six strokes over first-round leader Kentucky as the Wildcats shot and 863 (284-296-283). Eastern Kentucky was third with an 866 total (290-290-286) while Xavier and Ball State tied for fourth with 872’s. Xavier had rounds of 290-287-295 and Ball State followed with 298-290-294.
Individually, Notre Dame’s top finisher was senior Steve Ratay (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who turned in a pair of par-or-better rounds on Saturday with a one-under 70 in the second round and an even-par 71 to close out the tournament. Ratay tied for 16th overall with a four-over par 217. That put him 10 strokes behind tournament medalist John Holmes of Kentucky who finished with a six-under par 207 after three rounds of par or better. Holmes opened with a 68 on Friday and then had a 71 and 68 on Saturday.
Finishing in second was Nicholas Atzinger of Morehead State who was two strokes behind Holmes with a four-under par 209. Purdue’s Shiv Kapur was third with a one-under par 212 (75-67-70). Three golfers tied for fourth with even-par 213, including Lee Williamson of Purdue (71-74-68) and Eastern Kentucky teammates Sam Covitz (73-68-72) and Brad Morris (72-72-69).
For the Irish, following Ratay was junior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) who tied for 29th with a 220 mark (73-75-72). Freshman K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.) finished 55th after rounds of 75, 76 and 75 gave him a 13-over par 226. Fellow freshmen Steve Colnitis (Baldwin, Md.) and Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.) rounded out the Notre Dame contingent by finishing 80th and tied for 87th respectively. Colnitis shot a 234 (83-74-77) while Marshall had rounds of 82, 82 and 74 for his 238.
Notre Dame is next in action on Fri.-Sat., April 5-6 when the Irish travel to Huntington, W.Va., to participate in the Marshall Invitational. The Irish then host the BIG EAST Championship on April 20-21 at the Warren Golf Course in South Bend.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54 holes): 1. Purdue 294-285-278-857, 2. Kentucky 284-296-283-863, 3. Eastern Kentucky 290-290-286-866, t4. Xavier 290-287-295-872, Ball State 298-290-284-872, t6. Western Kentucky 297-294-288-879, Michigan 302-285-292-879, 8. Lousiville 301-294-289-884, 9. Miami (OH) 293-304-289-886, 10. Morehead State 295-303-289-887, 11. Ohio University 306-290-292-888, 12. Marshall 310-301-280-891, 13. Akron 302-298-292-892, t14. Notre Dame 306-295-292-893, Wisconsin 300-295-298-893, 16. Murray State 309-299-291-899, 17. Wright State 317-300-301-918, 18. Youngstown State 306-319-298-923.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 93): 1. John Holmes (Kentucky) 68-71-68-207, 2. Nicholas Atzinger (Morehead State) 70-69-70-209, 3. Shiv Kapur 75-67-70-212, t4. Lee Williamson (Purdue) 71-74-68-213, Sam Covitz (Eastern Kentucky) 73-68-72-213, Brad Morris (Eastern Kentucky) 72-72-69-213, t7. Miles Maillet (Xavier) 71-70-73-214, Andrew Matthews (Michigan) 74-70-70-214, Andy Dustman (Kentucky) 67-76-71-214, Grant Sturgeon (Louisville) 71-73-70-214.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 93): t16. Steve Ratay 76-70-71-217, t29. Brandon Lunke 73-75-72-220, t55. K.C. Wiseman 75-76-75-226, 80. Steve Colnitis 83-74-77-234, t87. Ryan Marshall 82-82-74-238.