April 14, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame golf team stands in 10th place at the Ohio State Kepler Intercollegiate, following first-day action Friday at the par-72, 7,141-yard OSU Scarlet Course.
Notre Dame posted matching rounds of 304 in the morning and afternoon, good for a 608 total and 10th place in the 17-team field. The Irish head into Saturdays final round just three shot behind three teams that are tied for seventh (Penn State, Marshall and Miami of Ohio) and just eight strokes behind fourth-place Kent.
Junior Alex Kent leads the Irish with a 150 total (74-76), placing him in a tie for 18th in the 90-player field. Seniors Jeff Connell (77-76) and Todd Vernon (78-75) were next at 153, followed by sophomores Chris Whitten (75-79/154) and Steve Ratay (79-77/156). Whitten-who was playing in just his third career tournament with the Irish and his first of 1999-2000-factored into the team scoring with his first-round 75.
Northwestern leads the team competition (297-285/582), with a nine-stroke cushion on the host Buckeyes (298-293). Northwestern teammates Jeff Daley (70-68/138) and Luke Donald (74-69/143) sit atop the individual leaderboard.