Oct. 7, 2008
Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic – Final Results 
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Junior Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) carded a 10-over par 225 and tied for 34th place to lead all Notre Dame golfers at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Warren Golf Course (par 70/7,023 yards) on the Notre Dame campus. The Irish finished 15th in the team standings at 71-over par 911 (307-301-303), while Arkansas won this year’s tournament at 863 (+23), holding off a strong challenge from UC Davis (867, +27).
Fortner shot rounds of 75, 76 and 74 to wind up 15 shots back of tournament medalist Randy Hutchison of Michigan State (210, E), who posted a birdie-eagle-par finish to edge Arkansas’ Andrew Landry by a single stroke. Fortner did log his second team-leading finish in three events this season, having also tied for sixth place at the Saint Mary’s (Calif.) Invitational last week.
Sophomore Jeff Chen (Walnut, Calif./Los Altos) ended one shot behind his teammate in a 39th-place tie at 16-over par 226 (78-72-76), while classmate Connor Alan-Lee (Solana Beach, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School) was another stroke back in 46th place (76-76-75=227). Freshman Max Scodro (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep (Ariz.)) shared 78th place at 29-over par 239 (84-77-78), while sophomore Dustin Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) tied for 80th place at 30-over par 240 (78-81-81) to complete the Irish starting lineup.
Notre Dame also fielded a “B” team at this week’s tournament, with that squad finishing in 16th place at 76-over par 916 (311-298-307). Freshman Tom Usher (Bradford, England/Guiseley School) paced the Irish second unit, tying Chen for 39th place at 16-over par 226 (78-74-74). Junior Carl Santos-Ocampo (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) was deadlocked in 57th place at 20-over par 230 (82-72-76), while sophomore Tyler Hock (Ocala, Fla./Forest) and junior co-captain Olavo Batista (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Chapel) both tied for 62nd place at 22-over par 232 — Hock shooting rounds of 80, 73 and 79, while Batista carded scores of 73, 79 and 80. Freshman Chris Walker (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) rounded out the “B” team quintet in a 78th-place tie at 29-over par 239 (80-81-78).
Sophomore Kyle Willis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) also competed as an individual participant this week, tying for 80th place at 30-over par 240 (86-80-74).
Notre Dame will play its third tournament in as many weeks on Oct. 13-14, when it travels to La Quinta, Calif., for the Prestige at PGA WEST. Live in-progress scoring will be available on the Golfstat web site (www.golfstat.com), while complete results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com) and the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) at the conclusion of each day’s action.
— ND —