Oct. 22, 2004
STANFORD, Calif. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team carded the second-lowest single-round score in school history on Friday, firing a three-over par 279 in the first round of The Nelson Invitational, hosted by Stanford University. The Irish had four players place in the top 21 in the 84-man field, with all four posting scores of 71 or lower on the par-69, 6,444-yard Stanford Golf Course. Notre Dame currently is tied for third place with 14th-ranked UNLV in the 16-team event, four strokes behind tournament leader (and No. 18) Georgia State and two strokes back of second-place (and fifth-ranked) New Mexico.
Notre Dame’s opening-round 279 is just four shots shy of the school record for a single round — the Irish registered a 275 in the opening round of the 1999 Air Force Invitational, which was played at altitude in Colorado Springs. Friday’s performance also continued a trend of success for Notre Dame at The Nelson Invitational, where the Irish have posted four of the top 15 single-round scores in school history. In 2002, Notre Dame logged an opening-round 285, and last year, the Irish had matching scores of 287 in the first two rounds.
Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) and junior Eric Deutsch (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) set a torrid pace for Notre Dame on Friday, carding identical scores of even-par 69 to tie for 11th place. The score equalled Deutsch’s best of the 2004-05 season (69 at the Inverness Intercollegiate), while it marked the third time Isban has shot par or better this fall. Both players are four shots off the lead held by New Mexico’s Spencer Levin.
Not to be outdone, freshman Mike King (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) continued his strong early-season play with a one-over par 70 on Friday, good for a 16th-place tie. Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) also looked sharp in his opening round with a two-over par 71 to tie for 21st place. Freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s) completed the Irish scoring with a five-over par 74, sitting in a 51st-place deadlock.
Notre Dame will try to improve upon Friday’s success when it returns for the second round of The Nelson Invitational Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EST in South Bend). Complete results will be available on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com) and via the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000, option #9).
— ND —
TEAM RESULTS (18-hole totals): 1. Georgia State 275; 2. New Mexico 277; 3. (tie) NOTRE DAME 279 and UNLV 279; 5. Missouri 284; 6. Stanford 285; 7. Northern Colorado 286; 8. Kansas 287; 9. Colorado State 289; 10. (tie) Florida Southern and Colorado 291; 12. (tie) Kansas State and West Florida 292; 14. Idaho 293; 15. UC Davis 295; 16. Texas-Pan American 304.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 84): 1. Spencer Levin (New Mexico) 65; 2. (tie) Ryan Moore (UNLV) and Steve Tiley (Georgia State) 67; 4. (tie) Shawn Jasper (Missouri), Joel Sjoholm (Georgia State), Tyler Docking (Kansas), Jay Reynolds (New Mexico), Matt VanCleave (Kansas State), Chris Mabry (Missouri) and Matthew Shin (Stanford) 68.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (of 84): 11. (tie) Cole Isban and Eric Deutsch 69; 16. (tie) Mike King 70; 21. (tie) Scott Gustafson 71; 51. (tie) Greg Rodgers 74.