March 26, 2010
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team sits in second place after first round action from the FAU Spring Break Championship at Gleneagles Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. Notre Dame fired a four-over par 288 on day one. Senior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) had a record setting opening 18 holes by shooting a seven-under par, 64, which places him in the early lead.
Fortner started at a torrid pace, shooting a four-under par (31) on the front nine, aided by four birdies and five pars. The back nine proved to be much the same as he was able to net five additional birdies and two pars to finish the back nine with a three-under par, 33. The seven-under par set both a season- and career-low round mark for Fortner, besting his previous season low at the Mason Rudolph Championship (67) and previous career low, set at the 2008-09 BIG EAST Championship (66).
Along with setting personal-bests, Fortner also etched his name in the Irish record books. His seven-under par score ties the lowest single-round under-par score previously set by Mark Baldwin in 2004-05 against TCU during his first round. The 64 strokes used to complete his opening 18 holes places Fortner at second all-time for lowest single-round stroke total trailing only Baldwin, who needed just 63 shots to finish his seven-under par round.
Senior Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) finds himself in a tie for 33rd after his opening round of action, shooting a three-over par, 74. After struggling through the opening nine holes of golf, recording four bogeys with one birdie, Sandman closed out his round with an even-par, 36 on the back nine, including a birdie on the thirteenth hole.
Sophomore Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep (AZ)) joins Sandman in a tie for 33rd after also carding 74. He used the strength of four birdies, including three on the back nine, to finish his opening round at three-over par.
Senior Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples), who is competing as an individual entrant for the Irish, is also tied with Sandman and Scodro after registering a 74. He opened with an even-par front nine, including three birdies before shooting a three-over par back nine, which featured a lone birdie at the tenth.
Sophomore Tom Usher (Bradford, England/Guiseley School) was the final scorecard counted to the Irish team total after he finished in a tie for 55th with a 76 (+5). Usher was able to record two birdies on the round along with 11 pars, but was hurt by two double bogeys coming on the fifth and 18th holes.
Sophomore Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) finished his first round of competition tied for 68th after carding an opening round 78 (+7). He was able to record one birdie to go along with 11 pars but was also hurt by the double bogey, recording two on the day at the third and 14th holes.
Second round action is slated to get underway on Sat., March 27 at 11:30 a.m. (ET) with a split tee time based on the team standings (the leading teams will tee off last). For live hole-by-hole scoring of day two of competition be sure to visit www.golfstatresults.com or click on the Live Stats tab on the right-hand side of the Notre Dame men’s golf schedule page on und.com.
For a full recap of the Irish on day two from the FAU Spring Break Championship be sure to check back with und.com.
Notre Dame Individual Totals:1. Fortner (64)T33. Sandman (74)T33. Scodro (74)*T33. Santos-Ocampo (74)T55. Usher (76)T68. Walker (78)* - denotes individual competitor
Top-10 Team Totals:1. Illinois (-2/282)2. Notre Dame (+4/288)T3. Penn State (+6/290)T3. Michigan (+6/290)T5. Florida Atlantic (+7/291)T5. Florida Gulf Coast (+7/291)T7. Minnesota (+9/293)T7. Eastern Michigan (+9/293)9. Iowa (+11/295)T10. St. Mary's (Calif.) (+14/298)T10. USF (+14/298)T10. Murray State (+14/298)T10. Marquette (+14/298)
–ND–