March 9, 2015
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team completed the first tournament day of its Spring Break excursion on Monday at the Lamkin San Diego Classic at the San Diego Country Club. The Irish posted team scores of 301-309 to claim solo 12th place in a loaded field at 610.
No. 29 New Mexico established itself as the team to beat on Monday, opening a 12-stroke lead after firing rounds of 278-284 to post a team total of 562 (-14). No. 17 Washington secured second place with a score of 574 (283-291), followed by No. 24 North Carolina (286-289) and co-host San Diego (287-288) tied for third place at 575. No. 27 San Diego State rounded out the top five, as the co-hosts carded an even par team effort of 576 (280-296).
Sophomore Matthew Rushton flew out of the gate during his morning round, birdieing the 11th, 14th, 16th and 18th holes as part of a four-under-par outward score of 32. A third par 5 birdie, at the 563-yard eighth hole, offset a pair of bogeys to lead Rushton to a three-under 69 for his morning 18.
Rushton made his second birdies of the day at the par 5 14th and 16th holes during round two, but a rough stretch on the inward nine knocked his final score to five-over-par 77. Rushton tied for 29th place at 146 (69-77), and the Cape Town, South Africa native finished among the top 10 players in the tournament’s 87-player field at four-under-par on all par 5 holes at the San Diego Country Club.
Freshman Thomas Steve notched three birdies during his opening 36 holes to post rounds of 76-75, tying for 46th place at 151. Steve paced all Notre Dame players with 23 pars during the first two rounds, including a seven-hole stretch that closed his back nine with all par saves.
Sophomore Blake Barens checked in tied for 66th place after Monday’s play, carding four birdies on his first day of the tournament (76-80=156). Barens chipped in 21 combined par saves, and played par 5 holes in an aggregate one-over-par.
Junior Cory Sciupider excelled in par 5 opportunities during his first two rounds, birdieing three of a possible eight holes in the opening 36 holes to post a cumulative score of two-under in par 5 scoring on Monday. Sciupider, who finished among the top 25 players in the field in par 5 scoring, posted rounds of 80-77 to share 70th place at 157.
Sophomore Liam Cox rounded out the Notre Dame lineup after logging rounds of 82-85 on the tournament’s first day. Cox rolled in a birdie at the par 5, 485-yard 14th hole in his first round and the 368-yard first hole during round two to highlight his scorecard.
The third and final round of the Lamkin San Diego Classic is scheduled to begin with tee times off the first and 10th tees of the San Diego Country Club on Tuesday at approximately 8 a.m. (PT). Notre Dame’s five starting players are set to take the golf course from 9:21 through 9:57 a.m. Live tournament results will be available through GolfStat.com.
Lamkin San Diego Classic-San Diego Country Club-Par-72, 7,033 Yds.
TEAMS (After Round 2): 1. No. 29 New Mexico 278-284=562, -14; 2. No. 17 Washington 283-291=574, -2; T3. No. 24 North Carolina 286-289=575, -1; T3. San Diego 287-288=575, -1; 5. No. 27 San Diego State 280-296=576, E; 6. Pepperdine 286-298=584, +8; 7. Louisiana Tech 300-294=594, +18; T8. BYU 293-304=597, +21; T8. Arizona 295-302=597, +21; 10. Oregon State 300-298=598, +22; 11. CSU – San Marcos 298-302=600, +24; 12. Notre Dame 301-309=610, +34; 13. UC Riverside 312-309=621, +45; 14. UC San Diego 302-325=627, +51.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (After Round 2): T29. Matthew Rushton 69-77=146, +2; T46. Thomas Steve 76-75=151, +7; T66. Blake Barens 76-80=156, +12; T70. Cory Sciupider 80-77=157, +13; 85. Liam Cox 82-85=167, +23.