April 21, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lead the 2003 BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championship after the first 36 holes of play Monday with a 30-over par 590 after firing rounds of 292 and 298 on the par 70, 7,011-yard Warren Golf Course. The Irish go into Tuesday morning’s final round of play with a four-stroke lead over defending champion Virginia Tech as the Hokies shot rounds of 302 and 292 for a 34-over par 594.
Individually, Virginia Tech’s Brendon De Jonge has a four-stroke lead over Notre Dame’s Scott Gustafson and a six-stroke lead over St. John’s Andrew Svoboda, a tri-winner at the 2001 BIG EAST Championship. De Jonge opened with a three-over par 73 and then fired a two-under par 68 for his one-over par 141. His second round 68 was the best round of the day as the tournament was played with temperatures in the mid-40’s with wind and rain throughout the day.
Gustafson was tied for the lead after the first round of play with Georgetown’s James Farrah as both golfers shot even-par 70. Gustafson followed with a 75 in the second round for a 36-hole total of five-over par 145. Farrah dropped to a tie for ninth as he shot an 81 in the second round for an 11-over 151.
Svoboda opened with a 71 and fell to a 76 in the second round for his seven-over par 147. Virginia Tech’s Chris McKeel is fourth with a 148 (75-73) and three Notre Dame golfers – Tommy Balderston (76-73), Mark Baldwin (75-74) and Brandon Lunke (72-77) – are tied for fifth with nine-over par totals of 149.
On the team side, Georgetown follows Notre Dame and Virginia Tech in third place with a 609 (300-309). Rutgers is fourth with a 614 (306-308), Seton Hall is fifth with a 621 (302-319) and St. John’s rounds out the six-team field with a 626 total after rounds of 308 and 318.
The final round of play at the 2003 BIG EAST Championship will be played on Tuesday, April 22 with the first set of golfers set to tee off at Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course at 8:00 a.m. (EST). Follow the tournament via live golf stats at Golfstat.com.
Team Scores (36-hole totals)
1. Notre Dame 292-298-5902. Virginia Tech 302-292-5943. Georgetown 300-309-6094. Rutgers 306-308-6145. Seton Hall 302-319-6216. St. John's 308-318-626
Top 20 Golfers (36-hole totals)
1. Brendon De Jonge (Virginia Tech) 73-68-1412. Scott Gustafson (Notre Dame) 70-75-1453. Andrew Svoboda (St. John's) 71-76-1474. Chris McKeel (Virginia Tech) 75-73-1485. Tommy Balderston (Notre Dame) 76-73-149 Mark Baldwin (Notre Dame) 75-74-149 Brandon Lunke (Notre Dame) 72-77-1498. Justin Van Hyning (Seton Hall) 71-79-1509. Eric Deutsch (Notre Dame) 75-76-151 David Erickson (Georgetown) 77-74-151 James Farrah (Georgetown) 70-81-151 Mike Kosup (Rutgers) 75-75-15113. Ryan Stinnett (Virginia Tech) 76-76-15214. Nick Cook (Georgetown) 73-80-15315. Jay Allaghi (Seton Hall) 73-81-154 Joel Kraner (Virginia Tech) 78-76-154 Matt Myers (Georgetown) 80-74-154 Brian Whitman (Rutgers) 75-79-154 Scott Wise (Virginia Tech) 79-75-154