April 18, 2010
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The Fighting Irish men’s golf team dealt with heavy rains and soggy conditions on Sunday to turn in an opening round 299 (+15) at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship. Most of the five-man Irish team reached the eighth hole before rain halted play on Sunday morning. After a three hour layoff, Notre Dame returned to the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort to finish its first round.
Notre Dame is currently in sixth place, but both Georgetown and Seton Hall – who sit ahead of the Irish in the standings – still have to complete their first rounds of play. Notre Dame trails first round leaders St. John’s by ten strokes.
Sophomore Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep) led the Irish on day one of the championship by firing an even-par 71. His steady round included two pars and two bogeys on both the front and back nines and he played his final eight holes of the day at a minus-one clip. As one of just seven players to shoot even par or better, Scodro is tied for fourth entering the second round of play and he trails leaders Michael Furci of DePaul and Troy Spencer of Seton Hall by just two strokes.
Sophomore Tom Usher (Bradford, England/Guiseley School) was the next Irish player to see his total counted towards the team score as he turned in a four-over par 75. Played mostly in heavy rains, Usher had a strong front nine in which he went one-over par and notched a birdie at the par-four second. But he was slowed on the back nine by five bogeys and ended the day in a tie for 22nd.
Senior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) carded a five-over par 76 to also have his score counted. He struggled at the start, recording three bogeys and a double in his first six holes. Fortner put the early struggles behind him by notching 12 consecutive pars to end his round, including an impressive up-and-down sand save on the 18th hole. He is tied for 28th.
Senior Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) rounded out the scoring for the Irish with a six-over par 77. His day was highlighted by a birdie on the par-five 14th, and he added 13 pars, but Sandman was hurt by double bogeys on the seventh and 17th holes. He is tied for 40th.
Sophomore Chris Walker (The Woodland, Texas/The Woodlands) turned in an opening round 79 to tie for 49th. He netted a birdie on the sixth but he also recorded three double bogeys on the day.
Because round one was not completed, the BIG EAST conference will not re-seed teams enetering round two and Notre Dame will once again play with Marquette and Connecticut beginning at 8:50 a.m. Live second round scoring will be available through www.golfstat.com and a complete round two recap will be posted on und.com following the conclusion of play on Tuesday.
Notre Dame ScoresT-4. Max Scodro (71)T-22. Tom Usher (75)T-28. Doug Fortner (76)T-40. Josh Sandman (77)T-49. Chris Walker (79)
Team Leaderboard1. St. John's (289)2. Georgetown (+6)*3. Seton Hall (+7)*4. Louisville (293)5. Connecticut (296)6. Notre Dame (299)7. Cincinnati (+17)*8. Rutgers (302)T-9. DePaul (304)T-9. Villanova (304)11. Marquette (306)12. USF (315)
* - DNF Round One