Irish Take Second at Stitch Intercollegiate

CARY, N.C. – The No. 26 Notre Dame men’s golf team was neck-and-neck with No. 9 NC State for two-and-a-half rounds, trailing by just one stroke heading into the final nine holes. That’s when the Wolfpack earned some separation to claim first place with an 813 (-51), as the Fighting Irish took second with an 825 (-39).

The 39-under-par marked a new season low, topping the Augusta Haskins score from last week by a whopping 20 strokes. Furthermore, the 39-under par marked the second-lowest score in program history, as Coach Handrigan’s 2019-20 squad holds the top mark with a 43-under-par at Quail Valley. 

Important to note, through five tournaments now, the Irish have improved their tournament score each time. Not only that, it also marked their third consecutive top-three finish.

Individually, freshman Tucker Clark continues to shine, achieving a career-best finish and career-low score for the second consecutive tournament. Clark shot a 65-74-66 to finish in seventh place with a 205 (-11). 

All-in-all, all five Irish landed in the top-20 on the leaderboard. Both Palmer Jackson and Davis Chatfield tied for 11th place with a 208 (-8), as the latter achieved both a new season-low score and season-best finish. 

In addition, Andrew O’Leary posted a season-low 209 (-7) to finish in 14th. Lastly, Taichi Kho posted a season-best 211 (-5) to land in 17th place.

ROUND THREE

Clark, who tied the program low-round record on Friday with a 65, once again led the Irish on Saturday with a final round 66. Clark totaled six birdies, as his round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-five ninth. 

Kho made the biggest leap in the standings on Saturday, climbing seven spots after firing off a 68. Kho was on absolute fire on the front-nine, where he went five-under-par. 

Both Jackson and Chatfield carded a final-round 70. Then O’Leary made it a clean sweep of everyone shooting under-par when he finished with a 71.

— ND —