April 26, 2003
East Lansing, Mich. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team shot rounds of 295 and 303 on Saturday at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational for a 22-over par 598 and are in eighth place after the first 36 holes of the tournament. The Irish trail Michigan State, the host school, by 23 strokes as the Spartans lead the tournament with a one-under par total of 575 (289-286). The tournament is being played at Michigan State’s par 72, 7,013-yard Forest Akers West Course.
The Spartans will go into Sunday’s final 18 holes with a one stroke lead on Minnesota as the Gophers stand at even-par 576 (285-291). Kent State and Illinois are within two strokes of the lead as they are tied for third with one-over par 577s. Kent State opened with a 299 and then a 10-under par 278 in the second round for the best team-round of the tournament. Illinois shot rounds of 284 and 293 for the Illini’s 577. The University of Toledo rounds out the top five with an eight-over par 584 after rounds of 294 and 290.
Individually, the Irish are led by senior captain Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) who is tied for 11th place with a one-under par 143 after rounds of 71 and 72. That puts him seven strokes behind Illinois’ James Lepp who is eight-under par with a 136 after 36 holes. Lepp fired a three-under par 69 in the first round and followed with a five-under par 67. He leads a group of 14 players in the 75-player field at even-par 144 or better.
Minnesota’s Matt Anderson is three strokes behind Lepp in second place with a five-under par 139 (69-70). Steve Lohmeyer of Kent State is third with a four-under par 140 (73-67) and Ohio State’s Zach Doran and Michigan State’s Andrew Ruthkoski round out the top five at three-under par 141. Doran shot 73-68 and Ruthkoski shot 71-70 for their 36-hole totals.
Following Lunke for the Irish is junior Gavin Ferlic (South Bend, Ind.) who is tied for 28th after the first day of play with a six-over par 150 after rounds of 74 and 76. Fellow junior Bill McCaughan (Key Biscayne, Fla.) and freshman Dan Klauer (Granger, Ind.) are tied for 41st with 153 totals. Both golfers shot rounds of 75 and 78 on Saturday. For Klauer, the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational is the first tournament of his collegiate career.
Rounding out Notre Dame’s five golfers is sophomore K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.) who is tied for 61st with a 157 after rounds of 80 and 77.
Sunday’s final round of play at MSU’s Forest Akers West Course will begin at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) with a shotgun start. This is the final tournament of the 2002-03 season for the Notre Dame men’s golf team.
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Michigan State 289-286-575; 2. Minnesota 285-291-576; t3. Kent State 299-278-577; Illinois 284-293-577; 5. Toledo 294-290-584; 6. Northwestern 293-297-590; 7. Ohio State 301-290-591; 8. Notre Dame 295-303-598; 9. Indiana 306-293-599; 10. Iowa 307-300-607; 11. Xavier 311-297-608; 12. Eastern Michigan 304-306-610; 13. Michigan 311-300-611; 14. Wisconsin 314-299-613.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 75): 1. James Lepp (Illinois) 69-67-136; 2. Matt Anderson (Minnesota) 69-70-139; 3. Steve Lohmeyer (Kent State) 73-67-140; t4. Zach Doran (Ohio State) 73-68-141; Andrew Ruthkoski (Michigan State) 71-70-141; t6. Peter Laws (Kent State) 72-70-142; Ryan Yip (Kent State) 74-68-142); Casey Lubahn (Michigan State) 70-72-142; Tom Johnson (Northwestern) 68-74-142; Justin Smith (Minnesota) 70-72-142.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 75): t11. Brandon Lunke 71-72-143; t28. Gavin Ferlic 74-76-150; t41. Bill McCaughan 75-78-153; Daniel Klauer 75-78-153; t61. K.C. Wiseman 80-77-157.