March 25, 2014
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The momentum from a spirited afternoon effort on day one was not able to carry into the final round of the Lone Star Invitational on Tuesday for the University of Notre Dame men’s golf team. The Irish posted a third round score of 300 at the Briggs Ranch Golf Club to finish in 13th place (302-284-300-886).
“We’ve just played tournament after tournament where we post one good round, sometimes two, but don’t post those three good ones that lead to strong finishes,” Notre Dame head coach Jim Kubinski said. “There are just too many basic errors right now. When we’re playing well, we can post. When we’re a little off, we haven’t figured out how to get it around without the “others.”
“We’ve been right up there in both birdies and pars at most events but keep taking those doubles and triples on holes where it’s hard to make those scores,” he added. “We need to get those simple up and downs up and down. The work ethic is there, as is the ability. We’ll get through this stretch, by keeping a positive attitude and getting our work in at home.”
Senior tri captain Niall Platt shook off a pair of bogeys early in his third round after starting at the 10th hole, making birdie at the 595-yard 11th and 314-yard 14th holes as part of an outward even par 36. Platt played his final 12 holes in one-under-par for a closing 71, tying for 12th place at 214 (74-69-71).
Junior Patrick Grahek logged two birdies over his final six holes, shaking off a slow start to cap a score of 36 on the Briggs Ranch front nine, and a four-over 76 for the day. Grahek was the next Notre Dame finisher on the leaderboard, sharing 30th place at 220 (72-72-76, +4).
Freshman Liam Cox contributed his second straight solid round on Tuesday, logging par on seven of his final eight holes to fire a three-over 75. Cox claimed a share of 65th place at nine-over-par (79-71-75-225).
Freshman Matt Rushton tied for 69th place with a three-round score of 227 (77-72-78), with senior tri-captain Andrew Carreron tying for 82nd place (82-76-80-238).
No. 20 New Mexico held on for the wire-to-wire team victory after a final day score of 285, shooting a combined total of 848 in a six-stroke victory (281-282-285, -16). No. 25 Baylor surged to second place with a seven-under 281 to card a tournament score of 854 (283-290-281, -10). Southeastern Louisiana placed third (288-285-290-863, -1), while No. 38 Purdue finished in solo fourth place (292-280-293-865). Houston Baptist (296-296-274) and North Texas (292-291-283) rounded out the top five in a tie for fifth place.
New Mexico’s Gavin Green (71-73-66) defeated Sacramento State’s Owen Taylor (71-67-72) on the second sudden death playoff hole to claim medalist honors after both players finished regulation play tied at six-under-par 210. Southeastern Louisiana’s Grady Brame (67-71-73), Baylor’s Niclas Mansson (68-71-72) and New Mexico’s Sean Romero (74-68-69) shared third place at 211 to cap the tournament’s top five finishers.
“It’s not so much a matter of confidence at this point but of determination and repetition,” Kubinski said. “Our weather will start to improve at home and our guys have learned a lot through these five or six tournaments most have now played. With only one senior competing regularly this year, we’ve experienced a learning curve. We’ll get something going here, with an eye on starting to string rounds and then tournaments together, as a team.
“When we shoot rounds in the 280s, as we’ve done a bit this season, the ability is obviously there,” he said. “Repeating, bringing consistency day-to-day, is a learned skill. We’ll keep working in this way. We have players with the desire to do so.”
Notre Dame resumes its spring schedule at the Irish Creek Collegiate on April 5-6 at the Irish Creek Golf Club in Kannapolis, N.C.
Lone Star Invitational-Briggs Ranch Golf Club-Par-72, 7,247 Yds.
TOP-10 TEAMS (Final): 1. No. 20 New Mexico 281-282-285-848, -16; 2. No. 25 Baylor 283-290-281-854, -10; 3. Southeastern Louisiana 288-285-290-863, -1; 4. No. 38 Purdue 292-280-293-865, +1; T5. Houston Baptist 296-296-274-866, +2; T5. North Texas 292-291-283-866, +2; 7. Rice 283-292-295-870, +6; 8. UTSA 288-295-291-874, +10; 9. Central Arkansas 295-288-296-879, +15; 10. UT Arlington 296-292-293-881, +17.
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS (Final): T1. No. 12 Gavin Green (New Mexico)* 71-73-66-210, -6; T1. Owen Taylor (Sacramento State) 71-67-72-210, -6; T3. Grady Brame (Southeastern Louisiana) 67-71-73-211, -5; T3. Niclas Mansson (Baylor) 68-71-72-211, -5; T3. Sean Romero (New Mexico) 74-68-69-211, -5; T6. No. 45 Kyle Jones (Baylor) 72-70-70-212, -4; T6. Joseph Abella (New Mexico) 75-68-69-212, -4; T8. Lawrence Allan (Southeastern Louisiana) 73-71-69-213, -3; T8. No. 59 Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) 72-67-74-213, -3; T8. Sam Saunders (New Mexico) 69-71-73-213, -3; T8. No. 24 Adam Schenk (Purdue) 71-71-71-213, -3.
* – Green defeated Taylor on the second sudden death playoff hole
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (Final): T12. Niall Platt 74-69-71-214, -2; T30. Patrick Grahek 72-72-76-220, +4; T65. Liam Cox 79-71-75-225, +9; T69. Matt Rushton 77-72-78-227, +11; T82. Andrew Carreon 82-76-80-238, +22.
–ND–