March 20, 2011
Final Team Standings With Individuals
STATESBORO, Ga. – After a tough final round of play on Sunday, the 27th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s golf team finished in 12th place (out of 15 teams) at the 32nd annual Schenkel Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club. The Irish final round saw them post a 22-over par, 310. Individually, Tom Usher (Bradford, England) led the Irish at the tournament, finishing tied for 20th at two-over par (218).
“We just let a solid finish slip away,” stated Irish head coach Jim Kubinski. “We were at two or three over par through 12 holes, closing in on a top-five finish and then just fell off the map coming in. I’ve honestly never seen anything like the way we played the last six holes. We have a lot of work to do. It’s just very disappointing to play well most of the day and finish so poorly.”
Usher battled through the tough round to piece together the top Irish score of the day, carding a three-over par 75. He made the turn at one over after birdying the seventh and eighth holes to recover his round after three straight bogeys on holes two through four. On the back side, Usher recorded seven pars to go along with a pair of bogeys. The finish gives Usher his fifth top-25 tournament result on the season.
Freshman Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) struggled on his final round, posting a nine-over par 81, which was not counted toward the team total. Platt did card two birdies on the round but was plagued by four bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey on the par four 10th hole. He ended the tournament in a share of 40th place at six over par (222).
Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) was the final Irish golfer counted toward the team total on the final day. The sophomore finished his round with a 79 (+7) after recording seven pars, three birdies, six bogeys and two double bogeys. For his 54-hole tournament, he finished in a tie for 55th with a nine-over par 225.
Juniors Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) and Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) each finished their final round with a six-over par 78. Walker earned a tie for 60th in the tournament with a 54-hole score of 227 (+11), while Scodro finished with a share of 67th place at 13-over par (229).
“We failed to execute on simple shots today,” remarked Kubinski. “We lost most of those shots within 100 yards. They’re correctable errors but hard to take all at once.”
The Irish next return to action in two weeks when they head to the University Club Intercollegiate, hosted by LSU, on April 2-3 at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La.
“We’ll go back to work and set our sights on LSU,” declared Kubinski. “We have a great group of golfers. We fumbled today, but we know we can recover.”
Schenkel Invitational - Forest Heights Country Club, Par 72 - 6,962 Yards
Top-Five Team Scores (54-hole totals):1. Auburn* 848 -162. Florida 848 -163. Virginia 858 -64. LSU 862 -25. North Florida 863 -1* - won tournament on first playoff hole
Top-Six Golfers (54-hole totals):1. Bank Vongvanij, Florida 207 -9T2. Kevin Aylwin, North Florida 208 -8T2. Kyle Kopsick, Auburn 208 -84. Phillip Choi, Florida 210 -6T5. Blayne Barber, Auburn 211 -5T5. Ben Kohles, Virginia 211 -5
Notre Dame Scores (54-hole totals):T20. Tom Usher 218 +2T40. Niall Platt 222 +6T55. Paul McNamara III 225 +9T60. Chris Walker 227 +11T67. Max Scodro 229 +13
–ND–