Sept. 8, 2008
DALY CITY, Calif. – Notre Dame sophomore Tyler Hock (Ocala, Fla./Forest) carded a three-over par 145 (72-73) and is tied for 14th place after Monday’s first two rounds of the season-opening USF Olympic Club Intercollegiate at the famed Olympic Club`s Lake Course (par 71/6,833 yards) in Daly City, Calif.
As a team, the Irish are tied with tournament host San Francisco and Wisconsin for 10th place in the 15-team field, carding a 36-hole score of 29-over par 597 (298-299). California is the overnight leader at even-par 568, while Notre Dame, USF and UW are among a pack of seven teams separated by just nine strokes in the middle of the field.
Hock was very consistent on Monday, bouncing back from three bogeys early in his first round with a pair of late birdies to finish with a morning-round 72. He then came back after lunch to reel off 15 pars in his afternoon round, with only a late double-bogey on No. 17 (his 16th hole of the day) preventing Hock from moving further up the 78-man individual ladder, which is headed up by California’s George Gandranata and Michael Jensen at one-under par 141.
Sophomore Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif./Los Altos) has looked solid at times in his first career start with the Irish travel squad, firing an eight-over par 150 (74-76) to tie for 41st place. Chen birdied two of his first five holes in the morning round, but slipped back with five bogeys, including three on his final four holes. His troubles carried over to the early part of the second round, but after a +3 start through six holes, Chen steadied himself and parred 10 of the final 12 holes.
Sophomore Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School) is two shots behind his classmate and fellow Golden State native, tying for 51st place at 10-over par 152 (78-74). After a difficult opening round, Alan-Lee began his second circuit like a house on fire, carding four birdies in a six-hole span, including three in a row on holes 7-9 (his sixth-eighth of the day). However, he returned those strokes on the back nine, with a triple-bogey 7 at No. 12 proving to be his costliest of the afternoon.
Notre Dame’s two veterans in the lineup had the most trouble of the Irish contingent on Monday. Junior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) is tied for 56th place at 11-over par 153 (77-76), while classmate Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) is another shot back in a 58th-place tie at 12-over par 154 (75-79). Santos-Ocampo started his round (and 2008-09 season) in grand fashion with an eagle on the par-5, 533-yard first hole, but that would be one of the few highlights for either him or Fortner on Monday.
Notre Dame will look for better fortunes on Tuesday when it tees off in the final round of the USF Olympic Club Intercollegiate at 8 a.m. (PT) from the Olympic Club in Daly City, Calif. Live in-progress scoring for this tournament is available at the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com) and complete results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com) and the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) at the conclusion of the day’s action.
— ND —
USF Olympic Club Intercollegiate
Sept. 8, 2008
The Olympic Club/Lake Course (Daly City, Calif.)
Par 71/6,833 yards
36-HOLE TEAM RESULTS: 1. California 568 (287-281); 2. UAB 579 (288-291); 3. Xavier 582 (293-289); 4. Colorado 583 (294-289); 5. San Diego 584 (296-288); 6. San Francisco “B” 588 (291-297); 7. Oregon State 592 (298-294); 8. Nevada 593 (294-299); 9. Saint Mary’s-Calif. 594 (296-298); 10. (tie) NOTRE DAME 597 (298-299), San Francisco 597 (302-295) and Wisconsin 597 (302-295); 13. Santa Clara 602 (302-300); 14. (tie) Rice 607 (303-304) and Hartford 607 (301-306).
TOP 5 INDIVIDUAL PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 78): 1. (tie) George Gandranata (Cal) 141 (71-70) and Michael Jensen (Cal) 141 (71-70); 3. Stephen Hale (Cal) 142 (72-70); 4. (tie) Chris Cunningham (USF) 143 (70-73) and Derek Tolan (CU) 143 (74-69); 14. (tie) Tyler Hock (ND) 145 (72-73); 41. (tie) Jeff Chen (ND) (74-76); 51. (tie) Connor Alan-Lee (ND) 152 (78-74); 56. (tie) Doug Fortner (ND) 153 (77-76); 58. (tie) Carl Santos-Ocampo (ND) 154 (75-79).