Sept. 27, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team sits in a tie for first place (out of 14 teams) after the opening day of action from the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic. Tom Usher (Bradford, England) led the way for the Irish, posting a first-day total of 139 (-1) to earn a share of first in the individual standings (out of 81 entrants).
The Irish jumped out to the lead after the first 18 holes, carding a one-over par 281 before shooting a 286 (+6) in the afternoon round. Iowa, who sat eight shots out after morning play posted a two-under par 278 as a team to pull into a tie with the Irish after day one.
Usher posted 10 birdies over his first 36 holes of play, including a string of four out of five in his second round from holes five through nine. He earned an even-par 70 in his first round, carding four birdies to go along with two bogies and a double bogey and used his birdie streak in round two to record a 69 (-1). Usher took advantage of the two par-5’s each round, playing them at a three-under par clip.
Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.) placed second on the day for the Irish, netting a pair of even-par 70 rounds. He matched Usher with 10 birdies on the day, including four of his first six holes to start the tournament and notched a pair of birdies on the par three fourth hole. Scodro claims a share of third place after the opening day.
Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) ended the day with a score of 133 (+3), good for a share of 12th place overall. He used 23 pars on his 36 holes and notched three birdies on the final six holes of his back nine in round one to finish the morning session at one-under par 69. Platt carded a second round 74 (+4) to close out his first day.
Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) ended day one in a share of 27th overall with a two-round total of 148 (+8). He played consistent all day, carding 25 pars to go along with one birdie in each of his two rounds. His second round 73 (+3) was counted toward the team total.
Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif.) finished the opening day in a tie for 39th after carding a 10-over par 150. His opening round 72 (+2) was the final score used to the morning team score, as he carded a pair of birdies to go along with 12 pars.
The remaining six Irish golfers took to the course as individual competitors with Andrew Carreon (San Antonio, Texas) posting the best mark with an 11-over par 151. He earned a pair of birdies on the front nine of his afternoon round.
Andrew Lane (Fairport, N.Y.) sits in a tie for 52nd after posting a total of 12-over 152. He capitalized on the final four holes on the course in his second round, netting birdies on the par-4 15th and par-5 17th.
Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif.) ended the first day with a score of 154 (+14). He recorded a one-over par morning round including three birdies, two of which came back-to-back on holes 12 and 13.
Ryan Coughlin (Rye, N.Y.) is tied with Chen entering the third round of play. He netted four birdies in his opening 36 holes, including three during his afternoon round.
Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) sits alone in 74th after posting a 10-over par 80 in each of his two rounds.
Dustin Zhang (Calgary, Alberta) ended day one with a score of 169 (+29).
Final round action gets underway with a split-tee start beginning at 8:15 a.m. (ET). The Irish rotation is tentatively scheduled to begin their final round at 9:45 a.m. starting at the first tee.
For live hole-by-hole scoring of the final round of the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic visit www.golfstat.com and be sure to check back with und.com for a recap of the closing round of action.
Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic – Warren Golf Course, Par 70 – 7,023
Top-Five Team Scores (36-hole totals): t1. NOTRE DAME (+7/567); t1. Iowa (+7/567); 3. San Francisco (+17/577); 4. Lamar (+21/581); 5. Houston (+24/584)
Top-Five Golfers (36-hole totals): t1. Tom Usher (NOTRE DAME/139); t1. Taylor Travis (San Francisco/139); t3. Max Scodro (NOTRE DAME/140); t3. Jace Long (Missouri/140); t3. Ji Hwan Park (San Francisco/140)
Notre Dame Scores (36-hole totals): t1. Tom Usher (70-69-139); t3. Max Scodro (70-70-140); t12. Niall Platt (69-74-143); t27. Chris Walker (75-73-148); t39. Connor Alan-Lee (72-78-150); t46. Andrew Carreon (75-76-151); t52. Andrew Lane (77-75-152); t62. Jeff Chen (71-83-154); t62. Ryan Coughlin (81-73-154); 74. Paul McNamara III (80-80-160); 81. Dustin Zhang (85-84-169)
–ND–