April 1, 2006
EVANS, Ga. – Playing in its strongest tournament of the year to date, the Notre Dame men’s golf team finds itself in 12th place following the first two rounds of play at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational, which opened Saturday at the Champions Retreat Golf Club (par 72/7,265 yards) in Evans, Ga. The Irish carded a 36-hole total of 16-over par 592 (299-293), 26 shots behind tournament leader Coastal Carolina, but one stroke ahead of 12th-ranked Tennessee and two back of No. 11 East Tennessee State.
Junior tri-captain Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) is among the individual leaders through two rounds, firing a three-under par 141 (74-67) to tie for fourth place in the 83-man field. Isban’s second-round 67 was not only the lowest of the day, but also a career-low for the Irish veteran, one shot better than her previous personal best that he set on two occasions (most recently in the final round at last fall’s Prestige at PGA WEST). In addition, Isban’s 67 tied for the fifth-lowest single-round score in school history.
Making his college debut, freshman Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) performed quite well, shooting a one-over par 145 (74-71) to tie for 22nd place. Sandman’s opening round was especially notable, as he carded an eagle on the fourth hole as a collegian.
Senior tri-captain Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) looked sharp in the morning, but scuffled a bit in the afternoon, finishing tied for 54th place at six-over par 150 (73-77). Sophomore Mike King (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) and senior tri-captain Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) completed the Notre Dame scoring, tying for 73rd place at 12-over par 156 — both players shot matching scores of 78 in their first two rounds.
The Irish will be back on the grounds at Champions Retreat Sunday at 9 a.m. (ET), teeing off in the final round of the Administaff Augusta State Invitational. Live in-progress scoring is available through the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com) and final results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com) and Irish Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) as soon as possible following the completion of the day’s action.
— ND —
Administaff Augusta State Invitational
April 1, 2006
Champions Retreat Golf Club (par 72/7,265 yards)
Evans, Ga.
TEAM RESULTS (through 36 holes): 1. Coastal Carolina 565 (282-283); 2. Minnesota 571 (283-288); 3. Clemson 573 (284-289); 4. South Carolina-Aiken 575 (286-289); 5. (tie) Mississippi 578 (291-287) and UCLA 578 (292-286); 7. Augusta State 579 (293-286); 8. North Carolina State 583 (293-290); 9. Virginia Tech 584 (298-286); 10. Washington 586 (297-289); 11. East Tennessee State 590 (295-295); 12. NOTRE DAME 592 (299-293); 13. Tennessee 593 (293-300); 14. Georgia Southern 596 (296-300); 15. LSU 601 (301-300).
TOP SIX INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 83): 1. (tie) Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina) 139 (69-70) and Scott Brown (USC-Aiken) 139 (70-69); 3. Joachim Fourquet (Coastal Carolina) 140 (71-69); 4. (tie) Cole Isban (Notre Dame) 141 (74-67), Josh Persons (Minnesota) 141 (68-73) and Erik Flores (UCLA) 141 (72-69); 22. (tie) Josh Sandman (Notre Dame) 145 (74-71); 54. (tie) Mark Baldwin (Notre Dame) 150 (73-77); 73. (tie) Mike King and Scott Gustafson (Notre Dame) 156 (78-78).