April 27, 2003
East Lansing, Mich. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closed out the 2002-03 season by shooting a final round 303 to finish 10th at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational on Sunday afternoon. The Irish finished the 54-hole tournament with a 37-over par 901 on Michigan State’s par 72, 7,013-yard Forest Akers West Course.
The Irish finished 37 strokes behind tournament co-champions, Kent State and Illinois, as both teams shot 287 for their final rounds to finish at even-par 864 for the weekend. The Golden Flashes recorded scores of 299, 278 and 287 for their three rounds while the Illini shot 284, 293 and 287 for the tournament. Minnesota finished third with an 869 (285-291-293) followed by Michigan State with an 874 (289-286-299) and Ohio State in fifth with an 880 (301-290-289).
Individually, James Lepp of Illinois took medalist honors, as he tied a tournament record by shooting an eight-under par 208 (69-67-72). He was followed by Kent State’s Peter Laws who finished one-stroke behind Lepp with a seven-under 209 (72-70-67) as 12 golfers in the field of 75 finished at par or better. Northwestern’s Tom Johnson was third with a five-under par 211 (68-74-69) while four golfers tied for fourth at four-under par 212. Ohio State’s Zach Doran, Kent State’s Steve Lohmeyer and Minnesota’s Justin Smith all finished with 212 totals.
Notre Dame’s top finisher was senior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) who shot a two-over par 74 for his final round of the year. That gave him a 54-hole total of one-over par 217. He shot 71-72 for his first 36 holes on Saturday.
Following Lunke was junior Bill McCaughan (Key Biscayne, Fla.) who shot an even-par 72 for his final round, the best single round of his collegiate career. McCaughan finished in a tie for 34th with a nine-over par 225 (75-78-72).
Junior Gavin Ferlic (South Bend, Ind.) tied for 49th with a 15-over par 231 (74-76-81) and was followed by K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.), who tied for 59th with a 54-hole total of 233 (80-77-76). Freshman Dan Klauer (Granger, Ind.), playing in his first collegiate tournament, rounded out the Irish golfers by tying for 62nd with an 18-over par 234. Klauer shot rounds of 75 and 78 on Saturday and finished with an 81 on Sunday.
This was the final tournament of the season for the Irish who will return to action in the fall.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Kent State 299-278-287-864; Illinois 284-293-287-864; 3. Minnesota 285-291-293-869; 4. Michigan State 289-286-299-874; 5. Ohio State 301-290-289-880; 6. Toledo 294-290-297-881; 7. Northwestern 293-297-292-882; 8. Indiana 306-293-297-896; 9. Iowa 307-300-292-899; 10. Notre Dame 295-303-303-901; 11. Wisconsin 314-299-293-906; 12. Xavier 311-297-301-909; 13. Eastern Michigan 304-306-304-914; 14. Michigan 311-300-307-918.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 75): 1. James Lepp (Illinois) 69-67-72-208; 2. Peter Laws (Kent State) 72-70-67-209; 3. Tom Johnson (Northwestern) 68-74-69-211; t4. Zach Doran (Ohio State) 73-68-71-212; Steve Lohmeyer (Kent State) 73-67-72-212; Justin Smith (Minnesota) 70-72-70-212; 7. Patrick Nagle (Illinois) 70-75-68-213; t8. Jeff Overton (Indiana) 77-66-71-214; Matt Anderson (Minnesota) 69-70-75-214; Casey Lubahn (Michigan State) 70-72-72-214.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 75): t13. Brandon Lunke 71-72-74-217; t34. Bill McCaughan 75-78-72-225; t49. Gavin Ferlic 74-76-81-231; t59. K.C. Wiseman 80-77-76-233; t62. Daniel Klauer 75-78-81-234.