Oct. 19, 2007
Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate Notes Package in PDF Format
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Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate
Sunday-Tuesday, Oct. 21-23, 2007
9:30 a.m. (CT) Sunday/TBA Monday-Tuesday
Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee/Ironhorse Course
Franklin, Tenn.
Par 71/7,100 yards
Irish Look To Strike The Right Chord In The Music City
Following a strong third-place finish at the Coca-Cola Duke Classic two weeks ago, Notre Dame aims to keep trending upward when it makes its first appearance in the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate Sunday-Tuesday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee in Franklin, Tenn. The Irish are coming off the fifth-lowest tournament score in school history (857, -7 at Duke) and may have found another weapon in their arsenal in freshman Tyler Hock, who owns a team-best 72.17 stroke average early in his rookie season.
Quoting Coach Kubinski…
“We’re looking forward to our first trip to Vanderbilt this weekend. Having worked in the Tennessee Section as a PGA assistant professional, I had an opportunity to play Vanderbilt’s Legends Golf Club on multiple occasions. It’s a fun layout with a nice mix of holes and is always in great condition. It should serve as an ideal venue for the teams this weekend.
“We’ll face a number of NCAA contenders and have an opportunity to face off with our BIG EAST rival, Louisville, for the first time this year. We’ll also try to keep the momentum going from our Duke trip, which was a nice bounce-back event. We want to start to sustain our good play and become more consistent, and Vanderbilt will be a good place to test us.
“Our lineup will remain the same in terms of our top four. We’ll be giving Kyle Willis an opportunity this weekend in the fifth spot. Kyle is a pretty steady player with a nice short game. I think he’ll give us that round or two which keeps all five players in the mix for a team score. That’s really the key as we look to start winning events with a young group (only one senior in the lineup). We need to have five good scores to choose from. I’m excited about that likelihood this weekend.”
Dates and Times
Teams will play single rounds each day of the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. Sunday’s opening round will feature a split-tee format, with the Irish slated to go off from the No. 1 tee beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT (10:30 a.m. ET in South Bend). The split-tee format will be used for the remaining two rounds, with start times based upon the team standings at the conclusion of the previous day’s play. All times and formats are tentative and subject to change.
Following The Irish
Complete results following each day’s action at the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com). The latest information from the tournament, including results, scheduling updates and weather delays, also will be available on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000).
Results also will be available via the Irish ALERT text-message system, which provides fans with regular updates on Notre Dame’s progress at the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate through text messages sent to their cell phone. For more information or to sign up, click here.
The Tournament Format
A total of 17 five-man teams (85 participants, plus a handful of additional golfers — including Irish senior Mike King — competing on an individual basis) will be taking part in the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. Conventional collegiate golf team scoring rules will apply, with the lowest four scores in the five-man lineup for each round counting toward the team total. Scores by golfers competing on an individual basis do not count to the team score.
The Teams
Besides Notre Dame and tournament host Vanderbilt (which will field a “B” team in addition to its varsity unit), the remaining teams in the field for the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate are: Augusta State, Belmont, Chattanooga, Iowa State, Louisville, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Mississippi State, UNC Greensboro, North Florida, South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and Western Kentucky.
According to Thursday’s edition of the Golf World/Nike Golf Top 25 coaches’ poll, No. 16 Chattanooga is the only ranked team scheduled to take part in this weekend’s tournament. However, no less than five other teams received votes in the latest coaches’ survey — Louisville (53 votes; 28th place), Middle Tennessee (44 votes; 31st), South Alabama (22 votes; tie-35th), Mississippi (five votes; tie-44th) and Iowa State (three votes; tie-46th).
Meanwhile, the Oct. 14 ratings in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index show that five of the top 50 Division I teams will be on hand for the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. Leading the way is seventh-ranked Chattanooga, followed by No. 26 Louisville, No. 39 Mississippi State, No. 42 Middle Tennessee and No. 43 Mississippi. Two other teams could move on to the first page of the Golfweek ratings with a strong performance this weekend — Notre Dame (56th) and South Alabama (59th).
In addition, the Oct. 17 Golfstat rankings indicate three of this weekend’s participants are appearing in that service’s Top 50. No. 10 Chattanooga sets the bar, with No. 28 Mississippi and No. 36 Virginia Tech among the national leaders through the first month of play. Four other squads — No. 51 Notre Dame, No. 52 Augusta State, No. 58 North Florida and No. 60 Middle Tennessee — aren’t far off the pace.
Head-To-Head
Notre Dame is not particularly familiar with the other opponents in this weekend’s Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. In fact, the Irish have a 1-2 record in limited action against Chattanooga (0-1), UNC Greensboro (1-0) and North Florida (0-1). For the season, the Irish are 22-12-2 (.639), with a 4-8-1 (.346) record against Top 50 clubs (1-5-1 vs. the Top 25).
The Course
Making its debut in 1992, the Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee is located in Franklin, Tenn., less than 20 miles south of downtown Nashville. The twin 18-hole layouts (Ironhorse Course and Roper’s Knob) each measure at 7,100 yards as par-71 courses, co-designed by renowned course architect Bob Cupp and 1992 U.S. Open champion Tom Kite. The facility has hosted several high-profile events, including the LPGA’s Electrolux USA Championship (presented by Vince Gill and Amy Grant) and the 1997 USGA Girls’ Junior Championship.
Noting The Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate
- Notre Dame will be making not only its first-ever appearance in the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate, but the first trip to the metro Nashville area in program history.
- In the eight decades of Irish golf, four players have come from the state of Tennessee. William Breen (Nashville/1949), Joel Hepler (Nashville/1994-97), John Montedonico (Memphis/1932-34) and Robert Wilson (Memphis/1968-70) all came to Notre Dame from the Volunteer State.
- Notre Dame head coach Jim Kubinski had the opportunity to play at the Legends Club of Tennessee several times during his tenure as a PGA assistant professional in the Tennessee Section during the mid-1990s.
Last Time Out: Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic
Notre Dame shot a season-best 284 (-4) and moved up three spots to finish third at the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic, which wrapped up Oct. 8 at the Duke Golf Club (par 72/7,063 yards) in Durham, N.C. The Irish wound up with a 54-hole score of seven-under par 857 (287-286-284), its best mark since shooting 856 (-8) at last year’s BIG EAST Conference Championship, and it also goes down as the fifth-lowest tournament score in school history. Sixth-ranked Chattanooga and No. 20 Duke shared the title in the 15-team event at 842 (-22), while Chattanooga’s Jonathan Hodge earned medalist honors at 12-under par 204.
Freshman Tyler Hock capped off an outstanding performance in his debut with the Notre Dame travel squad, tying for 11th place in the 84-man field at a season-low three-under par 213 (76-68-69). Playing for the first time back in his home state, junior Josh Sandman matched Hock’s final-round effort and posted his own season-best score of 213 (71-73-69). Senior tri-captain Greg Rodgers jumped up into a tie for 15th place with a career-low score of two-under par 214 (70-74-70), two strokes better than his previous best mark of 216 that he shot as a freshman at the 2004 Nelson Invitational (held on a shortened par-69 Stanford Golf Course that was being renovated). It’s also the second top-20 outing of the year for Rodgers, who posted a career-best tie for seventh at the season-opening Gopher Invitational.
Sophomore Doug Fortner earned his third top-20 finish in as many events this fall, tying for 20th place at one-over par 217 (70-71-76) after succumbing to the 90-degree heat late in the final round with five bogies in his final six holes. Senior tri-captain Eddie Peckels was the other Irish golfer in this weekend’s lineup, ending up tied for 80th place at 17-over par 233 (77-79-77).
Young Guns
Notre Dame has gotten a significant boost from its underclassmen, with its two lowest scorers (and four of the top five) being either freshmen or sophomores. Rookie Tyler Hock is setting the pace for the Irish so far this season with a 72.17 average, followed by sophomore Doug Fortner, who has a 72.33 stroke rate while posting three consecutive top-20 finishes. Freshman Jeff Chen has seen action in one “B” event and once as an individual, amassing a 73.33 average that is fourth-best on the team, while sophomore Kyle Willis rounds out the five best stroke averages for Notre Dame with a 73.83 mark.
Captains Courageous
Notre Dame’s three seniors have been selected as team captains for the 2007-08 season. Mike King, Eddie Peckels and Greg Rodgers all are serving in that capacity for the first time in their careers.
The .500 Rule
According to a new rule passed by the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee, teams must finish their season with a winning head-to-head record (i.e. better than .500) in order to be considered for a berth in postseason play.
Things You Should Know About The Irish
- Notre Dame has won six BIG EAST Conference titles in its 12-year league affiliation, stringing together three consecutive crowns from 1995-97 and again from 2004-06. The Irish also have made 33 NCAA postseason appearances in their history (most recently in 2006 with a trip to the NCAA East Regional), winning the 1944 national title and finishing second in 1937.
- Notre Dame has taken its play to new levels in recent years, posting three of the top seven single-season stroke averages in school history since head coach Jim Kubinski took over as head coach in January 2005. The Irish also have carded nine of the top 12 tournament scores (54 holes) in program history during the Kubinski era, including a school-record 842 (-22) at the 2006 BIG EAST Championship.
- Notre Dame’s impressive resurgence of late has been augmented by its play against nationally-ranked opponents. In fact, since Kubinski arrived under the Golden Dome, the Irish have defeated 13 Top 25 teams (according to Golfweek) and posted 14 top-five tournament finishes, including three event titles (most recently the ’06 BIG EAST Championship).
- Kubinski himself was nominated for a place on the 2007 GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teachers List, after being placed into consideration by the Indiana Section of the PGA. Approximately 400-500 people are chosen annually from the 30,000 PGA professionals nationwide for a few select places on the GOLF Magazine list, whose membership includes such notables as Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter and Rick Smith.
Next Up: UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship (Oct. 29-30)
Junior Josh Sandman will take his Notre Dame teammates and coaches back to his hometown as the Irish close out the fall portion of their schedule Oct. 29-30 at the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Some of the other featured teams at this tournament will include: Wake Forest, Mississippi State, LSU, Louisville, Arkansas and North Carolina.
— ND —