Oct. 26, 2002
Stanford, Calif. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team shot a second-round total of 12-over par 296 to slide to 10th place after 36 holes at the Nelson Invitational at Stanford on Sunday afternoon. That gives the Irish a two-day total of 13-over par 581 (285-296) heading into Sunday’s final round at the par 71, 6,786-yard Stanford Golf Club.
Notre Dame is 16 strokes behind tournament leaders Georgia Tech and Duke as those teams surged into first-place with three-under par totals of 565. Georgia Tech started the day in fourth, but fired a 282 to move into a tie with Duke. The Blue Devils shot a 287 as they moved from second into a first-place tie.
Trailing Georgia Tech and Duke by six strokes in third-place is Colorado State with a 571(281-290). North Carolina State is fourth, one stroke behind Colorado State and seven strokes off the lead with a 572 (293-279). Kansas rounds out the top five teams with a 575 total after rounds of 288 and 287.
Individually, Notre Dame’s Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.) continued his strong play, as he is one of four golfers tied for fifth, with a three-under par 139. Baldwin followed his opening round 67 with a one-over par 72 in Saturday’s round. The 139 puts Baldwin four strokes behind Nicholas Thompson of Georgia Tech who leads the tournament with a seven-under par 135. Thompson followed his opening round 66 with a 69 on Saturday.
Justin Walters (North Carolina State) and Leif Olson (Duke) are tied for second, one-stroke behind Thompson with 136 totals. Both golfers have rounds of 70 and 66. Brock Mackenzie of Washington is fourth with a 137 (67-70). Baldwin is joined by Chris Marshall of Kansas (69-70), Ron Won of Stanford (68-71) and Tyler Hall of Kansas (69-70) to round out the top five spots.
Following Baldwin in the Notre Dame lineup is senior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) who is tied for 23rd after firing an even-par 71 to go with an opening 73 for a two-over par 144. Sophomore Ryan Marshall (Marco Island, Fla.), playing as an individual entrant, moved into a tie for 35th with a four-over par 146 (74-72).
Freshman Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.) is tied for 50th at 149 after rounds of 71-78. He is followed by Eric Deutsch (Fr., Rochester, Minn.) who is tied for 59th with a 150 after a pair of 75’s. Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) rounds out the group tied for 72nd going into Sunday’s final round with a 152 (74-78).
The final round of play will start at 8:00 a.m. (PST) with a shotgun start at the Stanford Golf Club.
TEAM RESULTS (36 holes): t1. Duke 278-287-565; Georgia Tech 283-282-565; 3. Colorado State 281-290-571; 4. North Carolina State 293-279-572; 5. Kansas 288-287-575; 6. Washington 274-303-577; t7. Stanford 285-293-578; Toledo 291-287-578; 9. Miami (OH) 292-288-580; 10. Notre Dame 285-296-581; 11. Northwestern 289-293-582; 12. Oregon State 292-292-584; 13. Colorado 294-291-585; 14. Missouri 292-296-588; 15. Texas Tech 296-296-592; 16. Florida Southern 296-298-594; 17. Idaho 304-297-601; 18. Hawaii-Hilo 308-299-607.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 96): 1. Nicholas Thompson (Georgia Tech) 66-69-135; t2. Justin Walters (North Carolina State) 70-66-136; Leif Olson (Duke) 70-66-136; 4. Brock Mackenzie (Washington) 67-70-137; t5. Mark Baldwin (Notre Dame) 67-72-139; Chris Marshall (Kansas) 69-70-139; Ron Won (Stanford) 68-71-139; Tyler Hall (Kansas) 69-70-139; t9. Brad Heaven (Toledo) 73-67-140; Jim Seki (Stanford) 70-70-140.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 96): t5. Mark Baldwin 67-72-139; t23. Brandon Lunke 73-71-144; t35. Ryan Marshall 74-72-146; t50. Tommy Balderston 71-78-149; t59. Eric Deutsch 75-75-150; t72. Scott Gustafson 74-78-152.