March 13, 2009
LAREDO, Texas — After shaking off the remnants of a long trip from Puerto Rico to Texas during Friday morning’s opening round at the Border Olympics, the Notre Dame men’s golf team found its stride during the afternoon session, firing a 289 (+1) in the second round and moving into a tie for fifth place after 36 holes at the Border Olympics, being contested at the Laredo Country Club (par 72/7,241 yards).
Following a solid runner-up finish at the Palmas del Mar Intercollegiate in Puerto Rico on Wednesday afternoon, the Irish have posted a two-round total of 16-over par 592 (303-289), tying them with Texas State and putting the two schools 13 strokes behind tournament leader Baylor heading into Saturday’s final round. Louisville (585) is in second place, followed by 17th-ranked Arkansas (587) and Texas-Arlington (588) in the 16-team event.
Coming off a top-five individual finish earlier this week, junior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) picked up right where he left off, shooting a three-over par 147 (75-72) on Friday to claim a share of 15th place in the 88-man field. Fortner now has gone 73 or lower in five of his last seven rounds and is poised to make a run at his third top-10 finish of the season. Louisville’s Adam Hadwin is the overnight leader at 138 (-6), one shot better than UT-Arlington’s Bobby Massa.
A pair of Irish sophomores helped the cause during Friday afternoon’s round. Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif./Los Altos) shot an even-par 72, while Dustin Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) registered a one-over par 73, as both players are tied for 30th place at 149 (+5). The two other Notre Dame players in the starting lineup — sophomore Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School) and freshman Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep (Ariz.)) — are among a group of players tied for 51st place at 153 (+9). Alan-Lee bounced back nicely from a tough morning session with an afternoon 72, while Scodro went 75-78 on Friday.
Playing as an individual participant, freshman Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) is back in his home state this weekend for the first time as a collegian. He is tied for 77th place at 15-over par 159 (76-83).
Notre Dame will put a cap on its two-stop spring break trip Saturday morning with the final round of the Border Olympics. 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 competition.
— ND —
Border Olympics
March 13, 2009
Laredo Country Club (Laredo, Texas)
Par 72/7,241 yards
36-HOLE TEAM RESULTS: 1. Baylor 579 (297-282); 2. Louisville 585 (297-288); 3. Arkansas 587 (295-292); 4. Texas-Arlington 588 (286-302); 5. (tie) NOTRE DAME 592 (303-289) and Texas State 592 (297-295); 7. (tie) Lamar 593 (294-299), Washington State 593 (299-294) and Vanderbilt 593 (297-296); 10. North Texas 597 (299-298); 11. Arkansas-Little Rock 600 (302-298); 12. New Orleans 601 (305-296); 13. Rice 603 (303-300); 14. New Mexico State 608 (306-302); 15. Houston Baptist 610 (308-302); 16. Houston 618 (309-309).
TOP 4 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 88): 1. Adam Hadwin (LOU) 138 (70-68); 2. Bobby Massa (UTA) 139 (66-73); 3. Ethan Tracy (UA) 142 (70-72); 4. Tyler Matthews (VU) 143 (71-72); 15. (tie) Doug Fortner (ND) 147 (75-72); 30. (tie) Jeff Chen (ND) 149 (77-72) and Dustin Zhang (ND) 149 (76-73); 51. (tie) Connor Alan-Lee (ND) 153 (81-72) and Max Scodro (ND) 153 (75-78); 77. (tie) Chris Walker (ND)* 159 (76-83).
* – individual participant; score not counted to team total