Sept. 25, 2009
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team turned in an impressive first round minus-seven 277 at the Mason Rudolph Championship to stand in fifth place after one round of play. The Irish had three players break par (71), including senior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill), who led the way with a minus-four 67 to tie for second after one day of play.
Fortner teed off from the 10th and fired a 33 (-3) in his first nine holes of play with birdies at the 11th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes. The 2008 all-BIG EAST selection then recorded eight pars and a birdie on his final nine holes of play for the 67, the second lowest round of his Irish career. He is tied for second with six other players and trails Jonathan Randolph of Mississippi by three strokes.
Junior Connor Alan-Lee (Solano Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School) shot a minus-two 69 in his first round, placing him in a tie for 15th. He carded five birdies on the day, including the 14th, 18th, third, fourth and eighth holes. The 69 ties for Alan-Lee’s second lowest round with the Irish, having posted a 68 in the third round of last season’s Palmas del Mar Intercollegiate.
Sophomore Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands), competing in his first tournament of the young 2009-10 season, also had a solid day for the Irish as he turned in a minus-one 70. His steady day included two birdies (on two and 14), a bogey and 15 pars. The 70 ties for Walker’s lowest career mark, having also shot 70 in the second round of last season’s John Dallio Memorial. He is currently tied for 24th.
Senior Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) rounded out the scoring for the Irish as h posted an even par 71. After teeing off the tenth to start his day, Sandman was two over par through eight holes of play, but a birdie on the 18th followed by an eagle on the first brought his score back into red numbers. He then recorded seven pars and a bogey to end at even par.
Senior Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) rounded out the Irish contingent with a five-over par 76. He birdied the 11th but was hurt by six bogeys on the day.
The second round of the Mason Rudolph Championship gets underway at 8:00 a.m. (CT) on Saturday morning. The Irish will try and chase down the leaders from Arkansas State, who carded a minus-12 272. Live hole-by-hole scoring of the event is available through Golfstat (to access the site go to http://www.golfstatresults.com). Daily recaps of the second and third rounds will be posted on und.com.
Mason Rudolph Championship – Vanderbilt Legends Club
Top-Five Team Scores (18-hole totals): 1. Arkansas State (272); 2. South Carolina (274); t3. Georgia Tech (275); t3. Mississippi (275); 5. Notre Dame (277) .
Top-Five Golfers (18-hole scores): 1. Jonathan Randolph (Mississippi/64); t2. Lloyd du Preez (Arkansas/67); t2. Patrick Rada (South Carolina/67); t2. Kyle Scott (Georgia Tech/67); Doug Fortner (Notre Dame/67) ; Ryan Haselden (Vanderbilt/67); Hudson Johnson (Vanderbilt/67); Ryan Thorton (Vanderbilt/67).
Notre Dame Scores (18-hole totals): t2. Doug Fortner (67); t15. Connor Alan-Lee (69); t24. Chris Walker (70); t33. Josh Sandman (71); t74. Carl Santos-Ocampo.