March 28, 2009
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Junior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) turned in a sharp even-par 71 on Saturday, helping the Notre Dame men’s golf team maintain its position in a tie for eighth place after two rounds at the FAU Spring Break Championship in Delray Beach, Fla. The Irish currently stand at 22-over par 590 (294-296) and are tied with Iowa, 21 strokes back of tournament leader (and nationally-ranked) Illinois in the 14-team event, which is being played at the Gleneagles Country Club/Legends Course (par 71/6,722 yards).
Notre Dame also is just nine shots out of fifth place, putting the Irish in line to grab their third top-five finish in four spring tournaments. What’s more, the Irish are looking strong against the other BIG EAST Conference teams in this weekend’s field, leading St. John’s by 18 strokes and defending league champion Marquette by 19 strokes entering Sunday’s final round.
One day after the rookies led the way for Notre Dame at Gleneagles, it was the veterans’ turn, or more specifically, Fortner’s chance to shine. The 2008 all-BIG EAST selection is tied for 17th place at three-over par 145 (74-71), 10 shots behind the overnight co-leaders, Jonathan Bowers of Northwestern and Scott Langley of Illinois, in the 84-man field. Fortner erased a couple of early bogeys with birdies on the fifth and ninth holes before parring out the back nine.
Freshman Tom Usher (Bradford, England/Guiseley School) continues to turn in a solid effort in his first start of the spring, carding a four-over par 146 (73-73) to own a share of 23rd place after two rounds. Like Usher, junior Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) is making his spring debut, and like his freshman teammate, Santos-Ocampo duplicated his score from Friday, tying for 45th place at eight-over par 150 (75-75).
Sophomore Dustin Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) and freshman Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep (Ariz.)) rounded out the Irish lineup on Saturday, with both currently among a group of seven players tied for 53rd place at nine-over par 151. Zhang turned in rounds of 74-77, while Scodro posted scores of 73-78.
Notre Dame will wrap up play at the FAU Spring Break Championship on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. (ET) from the first tee of the Legends Course at Gleneagles Country Club. Live scoring is available for the tournament through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com), while complete results will be available at the conclusion of the day’s action on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com) and the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000).
— ND —
FAU Spring Break Championship
March 27-28, 2009
Delray Beach, Fla.
Gleneagles Country Club/Legends Course
Par 71/6,722 yards
36-HOLE TEAM RESULTS: 1. Illinois 569 (277-292); 2. Northwestern 574 (286-288); 3. Michigan 577 (287-290); 4. Ohio State 579 (280-299); 5. Eastern Michigan 581 (283-298); 6. Wisconsin 585 (291-294); 7. Memphis 587 (294-293); 8. (tie) NOTRE DAME 590 (294-296) and Iowa 590 (291-299); 10. Florida Atlantic 593 (299-294); 11. Missouri 597 (297-300); 12. St. John’s 608 (310-298); 13. Marquette 609 (298-311); 15. Northern Illinois 612 (306-306).
TOP 4 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 84): 1. (tie) Jonathan Bowers (NU) 135 (67-68) and Scott Langley (ILL) 135 (65-70); 3. Cam Burke (EMU) 139 (64-75); 4. Bo Hoag (OSU) 140 (68-72); 17. (tie) Doug Fortner (ND) 145 (74-71); 23. (tie) Tom Usher (ND) 146 (73-73); 45. (tie) Carl Santos-Ocampo (ND) 150 (75-75); 53. (tie) Dustin Zhang (ND) 151 (74-77) and Max Scodro (ND) 151 (73-78).