June 28, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s golf head coach Jim Kubinski announced Friday the program’s 2013-14 tournament schedule. The Irish will take part in five fall tournaments before hitting the course six times during the spring to open Notre Dame’s first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“We’re excited for our upcoming schedule,” Kubinski said. “It will provide a greater challenge than last season, in terms of strength of schedule ranking, and includes multiple tournaments at (professional) major championship venues in Crooked Stick, Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course and Oak Hill. It’s interesting that all three have hosted a PGA Championship, among several other big events, with Oak Hill again hosting the PGA in August.”
The Irish open the fall slate at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9) at the Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn. Notre Dame returns home for the annual Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic Sept. 23-24 at the Warren Golf Course.
“This season, our home event has moved back into September, which includes an opportunity for all teams to watch our football game against Michigan State Sept. 21,” Kubinski said. “It’s always great to compete on our campus, at one of the very best college courses in the world.”
After a brief two-week break, the Irish resume the autumn docket at the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate (Oct. 14-15) in Carmel, Ind. Crooked Stick Golf Club’s past event resume includes the 1991 PGA Championship, the 2009 U.S. Senior Open and the 2012 PGA TOUR BMW Championship.
Notre Dame closes the fall season with the Georgetown Intercollegiate (Oct. 21-22) at the Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md., and The Invitational at Kiawah Oct. 27-29 on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C. Kiawah Island was previously the site of the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 2007 Senior PGA Championship and the 2012 PGA Championship.
The Irish begin the spring schedule on the West Coast, competing in the San Diego Intercollegiate (March 10-11) at the San Diego (Calif.) Country Club. Notre Dame will then trek to the South, taking part in the Talis Park Challenge (March 16-17), hosted by Ball State University, at the Talis Park Golf Club in Naples, Fla., before closing the month at the Lone Star Invitational (March 24-25) in San Antonio, Texas.
“We’ll return to California and Texas again this year, after a year or two away,” Kubinski said. “Those are important areas for our players to compete in, offering different conditions and grasses. Also competing in Florida, again, adds something different to our players’ experience.”
For the second straight year, Notre Dame is scheduled to travel to the Irish Creek Collegiate (April 5-6) at the Irish Creek Golf Club in Kannapolis, N.C. The spring regular season slate concludes at the famed Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., where the Irish will serve as the host school for the Oak Hill Intercollegiate (April 21-22). Oak Hill has been the site of three U.S. Open Championships (1956, 1968, 1989), two U.S. Amateur Championships (1949, 1998), the 1984 U.S. Senior Open, the 1995 Ryder Cup, and will welcome the PGA Championship (1980, 2003) for the third time this August.
The 2013 ACC Championship will be contested April 25-27 at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C.
“Our goal is always to present our players with the opportunity and challenge of competing against the nation’s best players, on the very best courses,” Kubinski said. “We’ve done that again this season.”
–ND–