Nov. 1, 2005
SAN MARTIN, Calif. – In what will surely go down as one of the more bizarre episodes in the 76-year history of the Notre Dame men’s golf program, the Irish were disqualified from the team competition at the CordeValle Collegiate, which began Monday at the CordeValle Golf Club (par 72/7,169 yards) in San Martin, Calif.
Two Notre Dame players — senior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and junior Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) — discovered they had played the incorrect ball on the first hole of the first round while paired together with a duo from Northwestern. Although it could not be determined exactly when the violation occurred, both Irish golfers chose to disqualify themselves from the remainder of the tournament. Thus, Notre Dame was left with only three eligible golfers and could not post a team score so it was disqualified as a team.
“This is a day of very mixed emotions for our team,” second-year Notre Dame head coach Jim Kubinski said. “On the one hand, we’re obviously very disappointed at this turn of events, especially since we appeared to be right in contention for the tournament title with a 286 in the opening round before we learned of the violations. However, I’m extremely proud of Scotty and Cole for the way they handled themselves, coming forward on their own and calling attention to this situation. They easily could have let it go, and no one would have known, but they honored the rules of this game, as they should, and they are to be commended for their honesty.”
While Gustafson and Isban were disqualified, the remaining three Notre Dame golfers are still eligible to compete on an individual basis. In his first tournament of the season, sophomore Eddie Peckels (Pinehurst, N.C./Pope John Paul II (Fla.)) fired an even-par 144 (74-70) and is tied for 16th place through two rounds. Meanwhile, sophomore Mike King (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) had a share of the first-round lead after carding a career-low 68 (-4), but he slipped back a bit to a tie for 26th place, currently standing at two-over par 146 (68-78). Senior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep), playing in his first tournament since the death of his grandfather two weeks ago, is tied for 68th place at nine-pver par 153 (78-75).
The Notre Dame contingent will tee off in Tuesday’s final round at 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET in South Bend) at the CordeValle Golf Club. Live statistics are available on-line through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com) and a complete recap and final statistics will be available upon conclusion of the day’s events on the official Irish athletics web site (www.und.com).
— ND —
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. UCLA 565 (284-281); 2. Northwestern 568 (291-277); 3. Arkansas 575 (285-290); 4. (tie) Texas 579 (291-288) and California 579 (297-282); 6. Augusta State 581 (289-292); 7. Arizona 582 (292-290); 8. North Carolina 583 (299-284); 9. (tie) USC 585 (291-294) and Virginia 585 (297-288); 11. Washington 588 (292-296); 12. Stanford 589 (298-291); 13. Pepperdine 590 (296-294); 14. UCF 602 (300-302); 15. UC Davis 603 (305-298); 16. NOTRE DAME DQ.
TOP FOUR INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 80): 1. Daniel Im (UCLA) 138 (71-67); 2. Michael Wilson (California) 139 (69-70); 3. (tie) Major Manning (Augusta State) 140 (69-71) and Kyle Moore (Northwestern) 140 (75-65); 16. (tie) Eddie Peckels (Notre Dame) 144 (74-70); 26. (tie) Mike King (Notre Dame) 146 (68-78); 68. (tie) Mark Baldwin (Notre Dame) 153 (78-75); DQ. Scott Gustafson (Notre Dame); DQ. Cole Isban (Notre Dame).