The Notre Dame women’s golf team, the host school at the Adidas Fall Invitational, finished the first 36 holes with a 625 total after rounds of 320 and 305. That puts the Irish 23 strokes behind the University of Missouri and Baylor University as those two teams go into the final round of play on Tuesday tied for first with 26-over par totals of 602. Missouri turned in rounds of 305 and 297 while Baylor fired opening rounds of 302 and 300. The tournament is being played at the par 72, 5,985-yard Dye Course at the PGA Village.
Rounding out the top five teams after 36 holes are Kent State, Arkansas and Iowa State. Kent is five strokes behind the co-leaders with a 607 after rounds of 301 and 306. Arkansas is in fourth place with a 611 (302-309) and Iowa State is fifth following rounds of 311 and 303 for a 614 mark. Kent State and Nebraska were tied for first after the first 18 holes with 13-over par totals of 301.
Individually, Randi Gauthier of North Texas and Hanna Svenningsson of Baylor lead the tournament with one-under par totals of 143. Gauthier fired an opening round of 70 and followed with a 73 in the opening round. Svenningsson was one stroke behind with a one-under par 71 after the first round and shot an even-par 72 to close the day with a 143.
Two strokes behind the leaders in a tie for third are Elin Ohlsson of Missouri and Maria Jose Hurtado of Arkansas-Little Rock with two-over par totals of 146. Both golfers shot rounds of 74 and 72 on the day. Rounding out the top five is Amanda McCurdy of Arkansas who will go into Tuesday’s final round five strokes behind the leaders. McCurdy was tied for the lead with Gauthier after an opening round 70, but slid to fifth with a 78 in the afternoon.
For Notre Dame, junior Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill.) had the best day for the Irish with an 11-over par total of 155, good for a 21st-place tie. Byrne opened with a 76 and added a 79 for her best 36-hole total of the fall.
Three spots behind Byrne in a tie for 24th is freshman Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash.) who bounced back from an opening round 81 to fire a 75 in the second round for a 12-over par 156. Fellow freshman Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash.) had the biggest improvement on the day for the Irish to jump from 55th to 28th. Bassett opened with an 86 and then came back to fire a one-under par 71 for a 157 total.
Terri Taibl (Sr., Elm Grove, Wis.) was fourth among Irish golfers and tied for 37th overall with a 162 (82-80). Freshman Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland), making her first appearance in the scoring lineup for Notre Dame, is 39th after 36 holes with a 163 total (81-82). Karen Lotta rounded out the Irish lineup in a tied for 57th after shooting a 171 (85-86).
Three Notre Dame golfers competed as individual entries in the Adidas Fall Invitational. Freshman Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio) had the best day, finishing in a tie for 29th, with a 158 (80-78). Rebecca Rogers (Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.) was 47th with 89-78-167 and Lauren Barbir (Fr., Montgomery, Tex.) was tied for 48th with 84-84-168.
The final round of play will begin on Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) with a shotgun start.
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): t1. Missouri 305-297-602; Baylor 302-300-602; 3. Kent State 301-306-607; 4. Arkansas 302-309-611; 5. Iowa State 311-303-614; 6. Nebraska 301-316-617; 7. Arkansas-Little Rock 309-311-620; 8. Notre Dame 320-305-625; 9. North Texas 324-311-635; 10. Arkansas State 325-334-659; 11. Youngstown State 338-347-685.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 69): t1. Randi Gauthier (No. Texas) 70-73-143; Hanna Svenningsson (Baylor) 71-72-143; t3. Elin Ohlsson (Missouri) 74-72-146; Maria Jose Hurtado (Arkansas-L.R.) 74-72-146; 5. Amanda McCurdy (Arkansas) 70-78-148; 6. Stephanie Turner (Missouri) 75-74-149; t7. Laura Wells (Iowa State) 77-73-150; Veronique Drouin (Kent State) 73-77-150; Gabby Wedding (Kent State) 76-74-150; t10. Sarah Sasse (Nebraska) 76-75-151; Martina Gillen (Kent State) 75-76-151; Lina Axelsson (Arkansas) 77-74-151.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 69): t21. Shannon Byrne 76-79-155; t24. Katie Brophy 81-75-156; 28. Sarah Bassett 86-71-157; t29. * Lauren Gebauer 80-78-158; t37. Terri Taibl 82-80-162; 39. Suzie Hayes 81-82-163; 47. * Rebecca Rogers 89-78-167; t48. * Lauren Barbir 84-84-168; t57. Karen Lotta 85-86-171.
* – player is competing as an individual