Oct. 5, 2004
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team ended Tuesday much like it began the day — in a tie for 14th place as play concluded at the Windon Memorial Classic. The Irish carded a three-round total of 54-over par 906, matching the score posted by UC Davis and putting Notre Dame 41 strokes behind tournament host and champion Northwestern. The two-day event, which was suspended by darkness late in the second round on Monday, was contested in Lake Forest, Ill., at the par-71, 6,849-yard Conway Farms Golf Club.
The 18-team field at the Windon Memorial Classic was especially strong, with 14 teams having competed in NCAA regionals last year. Five teams, including defending national champion California, advanced to the NCAA Championship tournament as well. In addition, this year’s tournament featured several of the top squads from the Midwest District, including Kent State, the winner of the Notre Dame Invitational & Central Regional Preview two weeks ago, and Minnesota, the 2003 NCAA champion.
The Irish were paced by freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s), who registered the best outing of his brief collegiate career with a 19th-place tie at seven-over par 220 (74-69-77). His second-round 69 also was his best mark of the year to date. Meanwhile, sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) tied for 44th place in the 90-player field at 13-over par 226 (76-71-79). Isban now has carded scores of 226 or lower in all three of his tournament appearances this fall.
Junior Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) came in tied for 74th place at 20-over par 233 (77-78-78), one stroke ahead of classmate Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes), who wound up in a 77th-place deadlock at 21-over par 234 (80-77-77). Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) made his first appearance after missing almost three weeks due to injury and as each round progressed, he seemed to regain his stroke, culminating in the final round with a one-over par 72. He finished in a tie for 82nd place at 23-over par 236 (86-78-72).
Notre Dame will have the next three weeks off before returning to the links Oct. 23-24 for The Nelson Invitational, hosted by Stanford. Some Irish golfers will compete as individuals at the Eastern Illinois Invitational on Oct. 11-12 in Tuscola, Ill.
— ND —
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (54-hole totals): 1. Northwestern 865 (294-284-287); 2. Duke 869 (291-296-282); 3. (tie) Purdue 870 (296-283-291) and Kent State 870 (294-288-288); 5. Minnesota 873 (293-298-282); 6. North Florida 882 (297-289-296); 7. LSU 884 (287-296-301); 8. Illinois 885 (297-298-290); 9. Toledo 889 (296-298-295); 10. Kansas 894 (305-296-293); 11. Oklahoma 901 (304-293-304); 12. Stanford 903 (301-304-298); 13. California 905 (314-293-298); 14. (tie) NOTRE DAME 906 (307-295-304) and UC Davis 906 (309-301-296); 16. Richmond 910 (307-298-305); 17. North Carolina State 912 (309-296-307); 18. Furman 916 (305-311-300).
TOP EIGHT INDIVIDUALS (of 90): 1. Peter Richardson (Purdue) 212 (70-68-74); 2. (tie) Peter Laws (Kent State) 214 (70-69-75), Ryan Blaum (Duke) 214 (75-71-68), Josh Persons (Minnesota) 214 (72-74-68) and Tyler Brown (North Florida) 214 (72-69-73); 6. Dillon Dougherty (Northwestern) 215 (73-71-71); 7. (tie) Chris Wells (LSU) 216 (70-74-72) and Renaud Langevin (Toledo) 216 (73-74-69).
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 90): 19. (tie) Greg Rodgers 220 (74-69-77); 44. (tie) Cole Isban 226 (76-71-79); 74. (tie) Tommy Balderston 233 (77-78-78); 77. (tie) Eric Deutsch 234 (80-77-77); 82. (tie) Scott Gustafson 236 (86-78-72).