Oct. 17, 2011
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team (590, +14) finds itself tied for sixth (out of 12 teams) after the first two rounds of the Invitational at Kiawah, played Monday at the Ocean Course. The Irish were paced by senior Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill.), who carded an opening day 142 (-2) to earn a share of fourth place individually (out of 72 players).
“We just didn’t play well this morning,” stated Irish head coach Jim Kubinski. “We’ve played too many rounds posting two or three good scores, but rarely four. For this team to achieve what we’re capable of, we need to post four good scores. We make enough birdies to win, but we’re still making and counting too many others.”
Florida used a 12-under par (276) second round to pull away after the first day of competition, holding a ten shot lead at 567 (-9). UAB sits in second at one over (577), while Maryland is third at four over par (580). Individually, the Gators’ Tyler McCumber holds a two-shot lead after posting two sub-70 rounds to sit at seven under (137).
For the Irish, Scodro continued his torrid fall play, registering the lowest score in each of the two Irish rounds. After notching an even par (72) in the morning round, Scodro improved by two shots in the afternoon round (70) to move into his tie for fourth. In his opening 18 holes, Scodro posted three birdies along with three bogeys and 12 pars before carding six birdies in his afternoon round to go along with two bogeys, a double bogey and nine pars.
“Max played very, very well today,” remarked Kubinski. “He made a couple more putts in the afternoon but played well throughout the day.”
Sophomore Niall Platt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) is second amongst the Irish rotation and tied for 22nd overall after registering an opening day 148 (+4). In his opening round, Platt marked down three birdies along with six bogeys and nine pars to finish at three over (75). His afternoon round saw him bookend a bogey, double bogey and triple bogey between two birdies to open his round and three straight to finish it.
Junior Paul McNamara III (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) fought through an up-and-down day, not counting toward the team score in his morning round after carding a 79 (+7), before matching Scodro for the low Irish round of the afternoon with a 70 (-2). The second round saw McNamara card five birdies along with three bogeys and 10 pars. Overall, he is tied for 31st at five over (149).
Senior Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) is tied for 40th overall and is fourth amongst the Irish after registering an opening day 152 (+8). One of the senior tri-captains, Walker opened his day with a first round 75 (+3) before coming in with a 77 (+5) in the afternoon.
After seeing his opening score (80, +8) not count toward the team total, senior Tom Usher (Baildon, England) matched Walker’s 77 (+5) in the afternoon to share for the fourth score to count to the Irish rotation. Usher is tied for 57th in the field with a score of 157 (+13).
Sophomore Andrew Lane (Fairport, N.Y.), in his first taste of tournament golf on the season, saw his opening round 78 (+6) count to the team total, while his afternoon 80 (+8) did not. Lane recorded two birdies in each of his rounds, but was hampered by double bogeying three holes on the day, with a lone triple bogey on the par-4, 13th hole during his afternoon round. He is tied for 61st with a score of 158 (+14).
The Irish get their final round of play at the Invitational of Kiawah underway Tuesday off of the 10th tee beginning at 7:30 a.m. (ET) alongside Davidson and Richmond.
“We need to go out tomorrow and keep the ball in front of us,” expressed Kubinski. “If we can get our guys to keep the ball in play, we’ll beat teams. It’s the two or three bad swings or shots per round that’s hurting us.”
Be sure to check back with und.com for a complete recap as the Irish look to climb the leaderboard.
Top-Five Team Scores (36 holes complete):1. Florida 567 -92. UAB 577 +13. Maryland 580 +44. South Florida 581 +55. College of Charleston 584 +8
Top-Five Individual Scores (36 holes complete):1. Tyler McCumber, Florida 137 -72. Sam Love, UAB 139 -53. TJ Vogel, Florida 141 -3T4. Max Scodro, Notre Dame 142 -2T4. Trey Valentine, South Florida 142 -2
Notre Dame Results (36 holes complete):T6. NOTRE DAME 590 +14T4. Max Scodro 142 -2T22. Niall Platt 148 +4T31. Paul McNamara III 149 +5T40. Chris Walker 152 +8T57. Tom Usher 157 +13T61. Andrew Lane 158 +14
–ND–