Sept. 18, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team will play host to the 10th-annual Gridiron Golf Classic on Sept. 21-22 at the Warren Golf Course.
“We have so many tournaments being hosted now in college golf but I feel all players should be able to play a tournament at home,” Head Coach Jim Kubinski said. “There’s just something special about competing on your home course, especially when it’s right on your campus. Our players will have campus and dorm friends, family members and so many who are a part of our Notre Dame community coming out in support. It’s a great experience for our players.”
The tournament began in 2006 when the University of Notre Dame played host to the inaugural Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic at the Warren Golf Course. Created by Kubinski, the Gridiron Golf Classic returns exclusively to Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course for 2015 after last season’s second round was played at the Lost Dunes Golf Club.
“Mike Isban and I sat down over a decade ago with a goal of creating a tournament that brings together teams from across the country and that offers not only a first class golf competition but that also allows visiting coaches and players to experience what the Notre Dame community is about,” Kubinski said. “From our great volunteer base, to the opportunity for visiting teams to watch a Notre Dame football game, to the atmosphere on a fall weekend at Notre Dame, we’ve been committed to hosting the visiting teams in a way we hope will be memorable for them.”
The Details
Date: Sept. 21-22, 2015
Format: 36 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday
Tee Times: The first round is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. with a shotgun start and the second round will immediately follow the first. Tuesday’s round will begin at 8:30 a.m. with teams teeing off based on the standings.
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
The Course: The Warren Golf Course (Par-71, 7,023 Yards)
Tournament Field: Ball State, Dartmouth, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Loyola (Md.), Notre Dame, St. Mary’s (Calif.), Utah State, William & Mary, Wisconsin, Wofford and Xavier.
Live Scoring/Leaderboards: Golfstat
On The Tee
— The Irish are expected to play all 10 members of the team, including a probable starting five of junior Matthew Rushton (1), freshmen Ben Albin (2) and Miguel Delgado (3), senior Cory Sciupider (4) and junior Blake Barens (5).
— This season’s tournament will mark the 10th-annual Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic. Last season, Michigan Sate won the event for a third time (2007 and 2012), while Ball State’s McCormick Clouser took home the individual title.
— Notre Dame captured the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic title in 2009 when it was led by then senior Josh Sandman, who took home medalist honors. Sandman fired a two-over par 212 (70-68-74) for his first career title.
— Additional Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic team champions include: Michigan State (2007, 2012, 2014), Arkansas (2008), Iowa (2010) Saint Mary’s (tied for the championship in 2011) and Houston (tied for the championship in 2011, won outright in 2013).
— Head Coach Jim Kubinski scouts the course:
“Our Warren Golf Course is a championship venue, one that will test players through the bag. It’s a course that, to me, doesn’t have one, lone signature hole – that hole that has your attention when you wake up in the morning. Instead, our golf course has 18 signature holes. Each hole is so different and presents a strong but fair challenge to the player. Designers Bill Coor and Ben Crenshaw did a superb job in offering options to the player from hole 1 to 18, allowing the course to be played in many ways. We’ve never had a team post a winning score under par though, so the challenge is strong. Given the superb condition of the course both now and through the years, a credit to our Warren GC Superintendent Matt Cielen and his crew, I think you’ll see some excellent individual scores posted but do expect 284, Par, to be a good goal for teams throughout.”
— by Dan Colleran, Athletics Communications Associate Director