April 14, 2016

By Dan Colleran

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team will get one more day of competition in before next weekend’s ACC Championship when it plays host to the fourth installment of the Battle of the Warren on Saturday, April 16.

The Details
Date
: April 16, 2016
Format: 36 holes of continuous play
Tee Times: The first round tee times will begin at 9:10 a.m., with the second round projected to start at 1:40 p.m.
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
Course: The Warren Golf Course (Par-71, 7,023 Yards)
Tournament Field: Canisius, University of Detroit Mercy, Notre Dame

On The Tee
— The first four spots in Notre Dame’s probable starting lineup include junior Matthew Rushton (1), freshman Ben Albin (2), junior Blake Barens (3) and freshman Miguel Delgado (4). The fifth spot and individual entrants remain TBA.

Head Coach Jim Kubinski on the schedule and playing again at home ââ’¬¦
“We thought it was important to bridge the gap from the Clemson tournament to the ACC Championship with competition. We’ve contested The Battle of the Warren similarly in past years, most recently with our win in 2012 in a five-team field. We felt it was the perfect fit for our schedule again this year. I think it’s especially important right now, with a growing team, to transition from the US Open style test, not in rough but around the greens, presented at Cliffs Keowee Falls to the more collegiate style ACC set-up ahead.”

— Notre Dame last hosted the Battle at the Warren on April 22, 2012 when the Irish defeated Illinois State, Marquette, Evansville and Bradley. The Irish won by 36 strokes on that day. As a senior, Tom Usher won the event with a two-under par 140. Notre Dame also hosted and won the Battle at the Warren in 2010 and 2011.

— The Irish will use the Battle at the Warren as a final tune-up for next weekend’s 2016 ACC Men’s Golf Championship, which will be played April 22-24 at the Old North State Club in New London, North Carolina.

— Rushton (11 rounds, 72.45 stroke average) and Albin (11 rounds, 72.55 stroke average) have put together strong spring seasons for the Irish. Rushton is, cumulatively, just five over par, while Albin is +6. Each player has three top-25 finishes this semester, including one top-10 finish each.

Coach Kubinski scouts the course ââ’¬¦
“Matt Cielen and his Warren Golf Course crew have done an outstanding job in preparing the golf course for Saturday. The greens are very smooth and should run at 10.0 or even 10.5, which is excellent for April in this climate. There won’t be much rough to contend with at this point of the season but our golf course is still a very solid test. We’ll set par at 71 (#10 will be a Par 5) and play at just over 7,000 yards. I think par will be a very good score. The player who can break par will be in contention. There’s no doubt our Warren Golf Course is a comfortable venue for us. We enjoyed success here in September, with great play from Blake, Miguel and Ben along with Matt’s solid effort. We’ll look to rekindle those feelings this weekend.”

— ND —

Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and men’s golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).