Feb. 15, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Niall Platt, a sophomore on the University of Notre Dame men’s golf team, has been tabbed BIG EAST Golfer of the Week, it was announced by the conference Wednesday. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native finished the week 4-0 at The Match Play (Feb. 13-14) at the Reunion Resort Watson Course in Orlando, Fla., helping guide the Irish to the title.
The Irish knocked off Loyola-Chicago (5.5-0.5), Villanova (4.0-2.0), Central Arkansas (4.0-2.0) and USC Upstate (4.0-2.0) to claim the championship for the first time in the tournament’s three-year existence. Over the span of the two-day tournament, Platt concluded each of his four match-play contests without reaching the 17th tee, while also posting the team’s best margin of victory in two of the four matches.
In his opening contest, Platt turned in a 6-and-4 decision over Loyola-Chicago’s Erik Hoops, before taking down Derek Jones of Villanova, 4 and 3. The second day saw much the same from the Irish sophomore, as he defeated Chris Cooke of Central Arkansas in the semifinals and Brad Sill of USC Upstate in the finals by identical 4-and-2 counts.
This is the first career BIG EAST Golfer of the Week citation for Platt. He, and the remainder of the Irish roster, return to action March 3-4 when they play in the Alumni Match Weekend on Hilton Head Island, S.C., before taking on their next NCAA event March 16-18 at the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.
–ND–