Oct. 6, 2014
NORMAN, Okla. – One could hardly blame University of Notre Dame head women’s golf coach Susan Holt if she walked off the course on Monday afternoon with a smile on her face — record-breaking performances tend to put a bounce in any coach’s step.
Holt’s Fighting Irish completed the best 54-hole outing in school history on Monday, finishing with a school-record score of six-over par 846 (290-277-279) and tying Baylor for eighth place at the Schooner Fall Classic, which was held at the Belmar Golf Club (par 70/6,001 yards) in Norman, Oklahoma. Mississippi State won the event at 818 (-22), while Notre Dame was among six teams separated by four shots from places 4-8.
Playing in a tournament that featured nine of the top 40 teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ratings, Notre Dame placed in the top half of the standings, defeating No. 8 LSU and the other two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents in the field — No. 26 Florida State and Clemson. In the process, the Fighting Irish shattered the program record for a gross score at a 54-hole tournament by 12 strokes (858 at the 2008 Heather Farr Memorial). Monday’s round of 279 (-1) also was the second-lowest single-round gross score in school history, topped only by Sunday’s mark of 277 (-3).
This weekend’s final two rounds constitute two of the seven under-par rounds in program history, with the other five coming on par-72 courses (most recently in the closing two rounds of the 2013 BIG EAST Conference Championship with scores of six-under 282 and three-under 285). At the Schooner Fall Classic, four of the five Fighting Irish players posted at least one round in the 60s, with three players going that low in Monday’s final round.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the team’s performance,” Holt said. “This was a strong field and we were certainly competitive, being in the mix for a top-five finish, which was our goal. We had great rounds posted by everybody, and I really loved the balanced scoring. That’s what makes us a solid team.”
Junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) capped off one of the best individual tournament performances in Notre Dame history, tying for 13th place at one-under par 209 (74-66-69). Campbell’s score was the second-lowest gross total in school annals, eclipsed only by Nicole Zhang’s 207 (-9) at the 2010 Mary Fossum Invitational. It also was one stroke better than Campbell’s previous career low of 210 when she earned co-medalist honors at the 2013 BIG EAST Championship.
Campbell, who collected her second top-15 finish in as many tournaments to open the 2014-15 season, was among 15 golfers in the 91-player field to finish under par for the tournament, led by medalist Ally McDonald of Mississippi State (197, -13).
“Being so consistent with my ball-striking in back-to-back tournaments is really fueling my confidence heading into the home stretch of the fall season,” Campbell said. “It was good to see all of us getting under par, but we know that we can sharpen it up and go lower.”
“For Talia to finish in the top 15 in this strong field is really good,” Holt added. “She’s playing with confidence and hitting the ball very well right now.”
Senior Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) also enjoyed a career-best outing this weekend, tying for 24th place at two-over par 212 (69-71-72), a full 10 strokes better than her previous personal-best tournament score (222 at the 2013 Mary Fossum Invitational. Oride opened the Schooner Fall Classic with a career-low 69, one shot better than her prior best score in the second round of the 2012 Mary Fossum Invitational.
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) turned in a consistent effort throughout the three-day tournament, registering the best score and finish of her young career by tying for 40th place at five-over par 215 (71-71-73). Bellville nearly carded three consecutive rounds of 71 in Oklahoma before two late bogeys on Monday set her back slightly.
Senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) wiped out all traces of her first-round struggles with a second consecutive under-par round, finishing tied for 43rd place at six-over par 216 (78-69-69). Armstrong showed particular mental toughness on Monday, bouncing back from three bogeys in a four-hole stretch at the close of the front nine with a spotless back nine that included two birdies.
Sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) joined Armstrong in a tie for 43rd place at six-over par 216 (76-71-69) with her own hard-charging finish on Monday. Ferreira’s final-round 69 was a career-low score, two strokes better than her previous best set on two occasions (most recently at the 2014 Central District Invitational). The second-year standout tallied four birdies on Monday, including three on the homeward nine.
Notre Dame has a little more than a week to savor its performance before the Fighting Irish get back into action on Oct. 17-19 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Schooner Fall Classic
Oct. 4-6, 2014
Belmar Golf Club (par 70/6,001 yards)
Norman, Okla.
FINAL TEAM SCORES (54-hole totals): 1. Mississippi State 818 (277-273-268); 2. Arkansas 836 (290-272-274); 3. Texas A&M 838 (283-281-274); 4. Kent State 842 (287-274-281); 5. UCF 843 (292-280-271); 6. California 844 (285-281-278); 7. SMU 845 (282-284-279); 8. (tie) NOTRE DAME 846 (290-277-279) and Baylor 846 (293-280-273); 10. Texas 855 (295-287-273); 11. LSU 856 (283-288-285); 12. Texas Tech 859 (294-282-283); 13. Florida State 862 (293-286-283); 14. TCU 865 (296-284-285); 15. Oklahoma 867 (296-291-280); 16. (tie) Texas State 875 (298-282-295) and Clemson 875 (295-292-288).
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 91): 1. Ally McDonald (MSU) 197 (67-67-63); 2. Hayley Davis (BU) 201 (70-65-66); 3. Chieh Jessica Peng (MSU) 203 (67-68-68); 4. (tie) Maddie Szeryk (TAMU) 205 (70-66-69) and Jenny Haglund (SMU) 205 (70-66-69); 6. Marijosse Navarro (TAMU) 206 (70-70-66); 7. (tie) Regina Plasencia (UA) 207 (71-66-70) and Bertine Strauss (UT) 207 (69-72-66); 9. (tie) Hannah Suh (CAL) 208 (69-67-72), Raksha Phadke (KSU) 208 (72-65-71), Ji Eun Baik (MSU) 208 (73-68-67) and Samantha Marks (UA) 208 (76-67-65); 13. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 209 (74-66-69); 24. (tie) Kelli Oride (ND) 212 (69-71-72); 40. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 215 (71-71-73); 43. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 216 (78-69-69) and Jordan Ferreira (ND) 216 (76-71-69).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director