April 24, 2015
NEW LONDON, N.C. — Returning to the longtime site of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men’s Golf Championship on Friday, the University of Notre Dame men’s golf team looked to make its mark during the tournament’s first round. Two late birdies at the 18th hole carried the Irish into the top 10 following the first day of the 2015 ACC Championship at the Old North State Club.
Notre Dame carded a round one score of 303, tying No. 48 North Carolina State and Boston College for 10th place in the conference tournament field. Irish players in the final three groups on the golf course collectively gained a total of three strokes over the final two holes to move Notre Dame into the three-team tie in the top 10.
A slow start for sophomore Matthew Rushton on the front nine of the Old North State Club on Friday was quickly erased once Rushton made the turn. A birdie at the par-5 11th hole offset a bogey at No. 12 before Rushton rolled in a three at the par-5 15th to move to one-under-par on the back side. In response to a bogey at No. 16, Rushton added his third birdie of the day at the 197-yard 17th hole, leading the Cape Town, South Africa native to an inward one-under-par 35 and a first round score of three-over 75 (40-35) to share 35th place.
Junior Cory Sciupider made his first birdie of the ACC Championship at the par-5 sixth hole, carrying his round to one-under-par. Two bogeys still left the Etowah, North Carolina native in striking distance after an opening nine 37 (+1). Sciupider would add a birdie at the 558-yard 11th hole, but three bogeys on the inward nine dropped him into a tie with Rushton for 35th place with a round of 75 (37-38).
Senior Tyler Wingo emerged as one of the leading par-5 scorers in the ACC tournament field on Friday, playing the par-5 holes at the Old North State Club in a cumulative two-under-par. Wingo rolled in a four at the 558-yard 11th hole before closing with a birdie at the 568-yard 18th hole to cap a four-over 76, sharing 41st place.
Sophomore Blake Barens added a birdie of his own at the par-5 18th to log a first round 77 (+5), tying for 46th place. Freshman Thomas Steve rounded out the Notre Dame lineup in a tie for 52nd place at seven-over-par 79.
Clemson opened a one-shot overnight lead in the team draw after carding a seven-under-par 281 in its first round. Florida State was right on the heels of the Tigers at 282 (-6), followed by Virginia in third place at five-under 283 on Friday. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech tied one another for fourth place after firing matching rounds of four-under-par 284.
Georgia Tech’s Anders Albertson closed his opening round with six birdies over his final 14 holes to open a one-shot lead individually with a first day 67 (-5). Virginia Tech’s Trevor Cone and Florida State’s Hank Lebioda shared second place with matching rounds of four-under 68, followed by five players tied for fourth at three-under-par 69.
The second round of the 2015 ACC Men’s Golf Championship is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. (ET) on Saturday at the Old North State Club. Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Boston College will each take the course off the first tee in the 8:30-9:10 tee time wave. Live tournament coverage will also be available on ESPN3 Saturday from 3-5 p.m.
ACC Men’s Golf Championship-Old North State Club-Par-72, 7,102 Yds.
TEAMS (After Round One): 1. Clemson 281, -7; 2. Florida State 282, -6; 3. Virginia 283, -5; T4. Georgia Tech 284, -4; T4. Virginia Tech 284, -4; 6. Louisville 290, +2; 7. North Carolina 293, +5; 8. Duke 297, +9; 9. Wake Forest 299, +11; T10. Notre Dame 303, +15; T10. North Carolina State 303, +15; T10. Boston College 303, +15.
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS (After Round One): 1. Anders Albertson (Georgia Tech) 67, -5; T2. Trevor Cone (Virginia Tech) 68, -4; T2. Hank Lebioda (Florida State) 68, -4; T4. Robin Sciot-Siegrist (Louisville) 69, -3; T4. Scott Vincent (Virginia Tech) 69, -3; T4. Denny McCarthy (Virginia) 69, -3; T4. Miller Capps (Clemson) 69, -3; T4. Will Zalatoris (Wake Forest) 69, -3; T9. Stephen Behr (Clemson) 70, -2; T9. Ji Soo Park (Virginia) 70, -2; T9. Henry Do (North Carolina) 70, -2; T9. Josh Lee (Florida State) 70, 2.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (After Round One): T35. Matthew Rushton 75, +3; T35. Cory Sciupider 75, +3; T41. Tyler Wingo 76, +4; T46. Blake Barens 77, +5; T52. Thomas Steve 79, +7.
–ND–