Oct. 24, 2002
Stanford, Calif. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closes out the fall schedule this weekend when they face some of the top collegiate golf teams in the country at Stanford’s Nelson Invitational Friday-Sunday, Oct. 25-27. The tournament will be played at the par 71, 6,786-yard Stanford Golf Course.
The Teams: The 18-team field includes: Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Florida Southern, Georgia Tech, Hawaii-Hilo, Idaho, Kansas, Miami (OH), Missouri, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Stanford, Texas Tech, Toledo and Washington.
Dates and Times: The tournament will begin on Friday, Oct. 25 with tee times beginning at 8:00 a.m. (PDT) on the 1st and 10th tees. Teams will play 18 holes. On Saturday, Oct. 26, the same setup will be in effect with the second 18 holes being played. Sunday, Oct. 27th’s final 18 holes will begin at 8:00 a.m. (PDT) with a shotgun start.
Irish Lineup: Coach John Jasinski’s lineup will consist of four freshmen, a sophomore and a senior. Making the trip will be Scott Gustafson (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), Eric Deutsch (Fr., Rochester, Minn.), Tommy Balderston (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.), Mark Baldwin (Fr., Laconia, N.H.), Ryan Marshall (So., Marco Island, Fla.) and Brandon Lunke (Sr., San Antonio, Tex.).
Last Tournament: The Irish turned in their best finish of the 2002-03 season on Oct. 21-22 when they finished fifth at the Stonebridge Invitational in McKinney, Texas. Notre Dame shot their best 54-hole total with a nine-over par 873 after rounds of 289-295-289. Individually, freshman Tommy Balderston finished in a tie for fifth after his career-best three-under par 213 (69-73-71). Fellow freshman Eric Deutsch tied for 12th with an even-par 216 (68-77-71). His four-under par 68 ties him with four others for the sixth-lowest scoring round in Notre Dame history. Mark Baldwin had his best round at Notre Dame with a six-over par 222 (76-74-72) to tie for 31st. Brandon Lunke (228) and Scott Gustafson (232) rounded out the Irish lineup. Sophomore Ryan Marshall, playing as an individual entrant shot a 240 in his first action of the season.
Irish Leaders: Lunke leads the Irish with a 73.50 average in two tournaments this season. Deutsch moved into second overall with a 74.50 average in four tournaments. Gustafson is third with a 75.08. Baldwin (76.67 in three tournaments), Balderston (76.91 in four tournaments) and Marshall (80.00 in one tournament) round out the Irish lineup.
Tournament Results: Irish men’s golf results will be available on the Notre Dame website at und.com. For more information on the Nelson Invitational, contact Tim Connor at (574-631-7516).
Next For The Irish: The Notre Dame men’s golf team will break until March of 2003 when they begin their spring season in Florida.