May 20, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a 38-year hiatus, the Notre Dame men’s golf team returned to postseason action Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. Playing on the rugged Kampen Course (7,259 yards, par 72) in windy and humid conditions, the 24th-seeded Irish were one of the first teams to tee off and looked solid through the first nine holes, placing among the early leaders. However, Notre Dame found the going tough on a treacherous back nine that features a pair of 600-yard par-5 holes. The Irish ended up giving 15 strokes to the field over those last nine holes, slipping to 18th place in the 27-team event with a score of 22-over par 310.
Oklahoma State, the two-time defending Central Regional champion and last year’s NCAA runner-up, has the overall lead through the first day of competition, firing a one-under par 287 to lead Texas A&M by five strokes. The top-seeded Cowboys were the only team to finish under par on Thursday, while more than half of the field (16 teams) wound up at least 15 shots over par after the first round. OSU’s Casey Wittenberg, the low amateur at this year’s Masters, owns a share of the individual lead with Texas’ Jason Hartwick and Texas A&M’s Andrew Parr at three-under par 69.
At the conclusion of the 54-hole regional, the top 10 teams and two lowest individuals not on those teams will qualify for the NCAA Championships June 1-4 in Hot Springs, Va. Currently, Minnesota, Ohio State, SMU and Wichita State all are tied for eighth place at 14-over par 302, with the Irish sitting eight strokes back of that quartet.
Sophomore Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) set the pace for the Irish on day one, firing a three-over par 75 to tie for 34th place, while sophomore Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) provided a boost for Notre Dame from the bottom of the lineup with a four-over par 76, good for a 45th-place deadlock. Deutsch birdied the opening hole, while Gustafson picked up a birdie on the par-3 second hole, giving Notre Dame a brief peek at red numbers and the very early tournament lead. However, bogeys by Gustafson (at the third) and Deutsch (at No. 4) would begin to bring the Irish back to the pack.
Still, Notre Dame remained on pace with the morning leaders at seven-over par as the teams made the turn, thanks in part to freshman Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian HS), who checked in at one-under par after 10 holes. Yet, Isban was a microcosm of Notre Dame’s struggles on the back side, shooting seven-over par on his final eight holes and returning to the clubhouse with an opening-round 78 (+6), putting him in a tie for 70th place.
Sophomores Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H./New Hampton Prep) and Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews HS) also found tough sledding during the opening round. Baldwin was saddled with a triple bogey on the third hole and a double bogey at No. 4, leading him to finish at nine-over par 81 in a 99th-place tie for the day. Meanwhile, Balderston started well, carding a birdie at No. 3, but the wheels soon came off for the two-time all-BIG EAST Conference selection, as he was six-over par on the final five holes of the front side. Balderston completed the opening circuit at 10-over par 82, shooting matching scores of 41 on each half of the course to tie for 110th place in the 141-player field.
Notre Dame will return to the links Friday afternoon for the second round of the NCAA Central Regional. The Irish are scheduled to open on the 10th tee beginning at 12:36 p.m. (EST/CDT), although thunderstorms are in the forecast for Friday morning and could result in delayed tee times. Full updates from the NCAA Central Regional will be provided on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) and www.und.com throughout the day.
— ND —
2004 NCAA Central Regional
Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex/Kampen Course – West Lafayette, Ind.
Par 72 – 7,259 yards
Thursday, May 20 – First Round Scores
TEAM LEADERS: 1. Oklahoma State 287; 2. Texas A&M 292; 3. Purdue 295; 4. (tie) Kentucky and Texas 298; 6. Kansas State 300; 7. Kent State 301; 8. (tie) Minnesota, Ohio State, SMU and Wichita State 302; 12. Colorado 304; 13. (tie) Oklahoma and TCU 305; 15. Indiana 306; 16. (tie) Lamar and Illinois 309; 18. NOTRE DAME 310; 19. Xavier 312; 20. (tie) Arkansas and Tulsa 314; 22. Kansas 315; 23. Texas Tech 317; 24. Baylor 321; 25. (tie) Princeton and Western Illinois 323; 27. Jackson State 333.
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS (of 141): 1. (tie) Jason Hartwick (Texas), Andrew Parr (Texas A&M) and Casey Wittenberg (Oklahoma State) 69; 4. (tie) Alex Noren (Oklahoma State) and Brandon Waldrop (Kentucky) 70; 6. (tie) Anthony Kim (Oklahoma), Jeff Overton (Indiana), David Schultz (TCU) and Chris Stroud (Lamar) 71.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 141): 34. (tie) Scott Gustafson 75; 45. (tie) Eric Deutsch 76; 70. (tie) Cole Isban 78; 99. (tie) Mark Baldwin 81; 110. (tie) Tommy Balderston 82.