Irish Trek To Durham For the Rod Myers Invitational

2014 Rod Myers Invitational, hosted by Duke University, Oct. 11-12, Duke University Golf Club, Durham, North Carolina.

The Duke University Golf Club officially opened in 1957, and was designed by famed architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. The par 72, 7,136-yard layout was later redesigned by Rees Jones in the mid-1990s.

The Rod Myers Invitational enters its fifth year at the Duke Golf Club in 2014, named after the longtime men’s golf coach at Duke who died in 2007 after a bout with leukemia. Duke has claimed its home tournament on two occasions (2011 and 2012), with Iowa winning the inaugural event in 2010 and Northwestern returning to defend its 2013 tournament title.

The 54-hole stroke play tournament begins with tee times off No. 1 and No. 10 at 7:50 a.m. (ET) on Saturday at the Duke Golf Club. Players will play continuously to complete the second round of the tournament on Saturday afternoon. Tee times for the final round will begin at approximately 8 a.m. (first tee) and 7:55 a.m. (10th tee) at the Duke Golf Club on Sunday.

A total of 12 teams will compete at the 2014 Rod Myers Invitational, with three teams having ties to the Atlantic Coast Conference in Notre Dame, Duke and North Carolina. Joining the ACC representatives in the tournament are Baylor, Charlotte, Dartmouth, East Carolina, Iowa, Liberty, Michigan State, Northwestern and Tulsa.

The Notre Dame starting five are sophomore Matthew Rushton, senior Patrick Grahek, junior Cory Sciupider, freshman Thomas Steve and senior Tyler Wingo.

Results will be posted on the UND Athletic Department Web site (www.UND.com) at the conclusion of each round. Live results will be available through GolfStat.

Notre Dame closes its 2014 fall season at the Bridgestone Invitational on Oct. 25-26 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After nearly two weeks of a competitive lull during the 2014 fall schedule, the University of Notre Dame men’s golf team returns to action this weekend at the Rod Myers Invitational, hosted by Duke University, at the Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina. The Irish will make their first appearance in Duke’s signature tournament, a homecoming of sorts for Notre Dame head coach Jim Kubinski. Kubinski was the assistant men’s and women’s golf coach for the Blue Devils in the competitive Atlantic Coast Conference from 2003-04.

“It’s great to be heading to ACC country for Duke’s tournament this weekend. I know the course well, having worked there as a golf pro and then assistant coach,” Kubinski said. “They’ve switched their greens, though, to Champion’s Bermuda, so I’m interested to see how they’ll play. The layout is a good one. If you’re playing well, it’s a course where birdies can be had. It’s a good test though, very fair.

Notre Dame looks for a strong bounce back performance from its home Fighting Irish Golf Classic that was held on Sept. 28-30 at the Warren Golf Course and Lost Dunes Golf Club. The Irish placed seventh of eight teams at the home event, but there were a number of positive results that helped to shape the team’s Rod Myers Invitational lineup.

Junior Cory Sciupider will make his return to the Notre Dame starting five after a second place finish competing unattached at the Fighting Irish Golf Classic. The Etowah, North Carolina native put together rounds of 66-71-73 to cap the tournament as one of just two players, the other being medalist McCormick Clouser of Ball State, to finish under par (211, -2).

Freshman Thomas Steve enjoyed the best finish of his young collegiate career, posting a score of 216 (71-73-72) to place solo eighth during the Fighting Irish Golf Classic. Steve has been among the tournament birdie leaders in each of his first four starts this fall for Notre Dame.

Rounding out the Notre Dame starting lineup will be sophomore Matthew Rushton, the current Irish leader in stroke average (71.82), and seniors Patrick Grahek and Tyler Wingo. Grahek has accounted for a pair of top 25 finishes thus far during the fall slate, while Wingo carded his best result, a tie for 33rd place, as the Fighting Irish Golf Classic.

“I’m looking forward to some good play, as all our boys had a weekend off after a long competitive stretch (four tournaments in a one month span),” Kubinski said. “We’re looking at this event as the beginning of our second leg of the schedule. It’s a fresh start in that way and a time when we’ll look to build on all the 280s scores we’ve posted so far, with a goal of reducing those 300 scores.

“Golfers need to be able to find “comfortable” when those uncomfortable things come up during a round, whatever they may be,” Kubinski added. “Our guys are developing in this way. This week is a great opportunity for us.”