Dec. 6, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s golf coach John Jasinski has announced the signing of three high school golfers to national letters-of-intent to attend the University beginning with the 2002-03 season. All three golfers come to the Irish ranked among the top 100 junior golfers in the nation.

Joining the Irish next fall are Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.), Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.) and Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

In making the announcement, Jasinski said, “I’ve been quite pleased with the reaction of junior golfers around the country and their interest in helping build Notre Dame into a national power in golf in the coming years. We came here in late August with no recruiting prospects and in that short time we’ve been able to sign three of the top 100 golfers in the country. This gives our program much to look forward to in the terms of future successful recruiting.”

“Many thanks need to be given to Bill Warren who has provided the funding to build a championship golf course and to Bob Rolfs who’s generosity has endowed the scholarships for the Notre Dame golf program.”

Balderston is a senior at St. Andrew’s High School in Boca Raton, Fla. and is ranked 54th in the nation in the Golfweek/Ashworth Top 100 rankings. In November, he finished sixth in the Florida State high school tournament and was named Palm Beach County Player of the Year. He also tied for 32nd at the Ashworth Top 100 Tournament. His junior golf career has seen him play at the local and national levels. In the spring of 2001, Balderston won two junior tournaments – the Pompano Beach Jr. Classic and the PGA South Florida Secton Qualifier. He finished the summer by tying for 11th (in a field of 100) at the AJGA Robert Trent Jones Jr. Classic in Semmes, Ala. with a 54-hole total of 221 (78-69-74).

Baldwin is currently a senior at the New Hampton School in New Hampton, N.H., and is ranked 61st in the Golfweek/Ashworth Top 100. A three-time team captain, he was runner-up at the New Hampshire State championship as a freshman and won the tournament as a sophomore. He also won the state prep school championship last season when he was named New Hampshire Player of the Year and was selected Boston Globe all-scholastic and all-state. In junior golf, Baldwin finished sixth at the 2001 AJGA Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior Classic and the AJGA Tucker Anthony, while being seventh at the 2001 Junior World Championship. In 2000, he was first at the United States Challenge Cup Championship and the United States Challenge Cup Players Championship. In 1999, Baldwin was the New England and New Hampshire Junior Champion.

Gustafson closes out his high school career this season at Eden Prairie High School where he was twice named all-conference and is a three-time all-state selection. He is ranked 97th in the nation in the Golfweek/Ashworth Top 100. A three-time captain of the golf team, Gustafson helped lead Eden Prairie to the 1999 State championship while finishing sixth individually at the State tournament. Last season he turned in a 73.5 average as a junior. This past summer, Gustafson recorded three top 15 finishes in three AJGA events and was 13th in medal play at the U.S. Junior Championships. In 1999, he won the IJGT Desert Junior Championship and in 2001 was winner of the FCWT Junior Irish Shootout.