April 12, 2003
Columbus, Ohio – The Notre Dame men’s golf team fired round of 307 and 318 on Saturday for a 625 total that ties the Irish for 15th in the 18-team field at the Kepler Invitational at Ohio State. The Irish are 34 strokes behind tourney leader, Ohio State as the Buckeyes are the lone team under 600 with a 36-hole total of 591 (297-294). The tournament is being played at Ohio State’s par 72, 7,258-yard Scarlet Course.
The Buckeyes will go into Sunday’s final round of play with a nine-stroke lead over Indiana as the Hoosiers are in second-place with a 36-hole total of 600 (302-298). The University of Illinois and the University of Toledo are tied for third, just one stroke behind Indiana with 601 totals. Illinois shot 299-302 and Toledo had rounds of 307 and 294. Miami (OH) is fifth in the tournament with a 605 mark after rounds of 303 and 302.
Individually, two golfers will go into the final round tied with one-under par 143s. Indiana’s Jeff Overton fired an opening round 72 and followed with a 71 for his 143. Toledo’s Brad Heaven opened with a two-over par 74 and followed it with the best second round of the tournament with a three-under par 69. Eric Phipps of Miami, Shiv Kapur of Purdue and first-round leader Zach Doran of Ohio State are tied for third with four-over par 146, three strokes behind the tournament leaders. Doran led after one round with a three-under par 69, only to balloon to a second round 77 for his 146 mark.
Notre Dame’s top golfer in the first two rounds was senior Brandon Lunke (San Antonio, Texas) who is tied for 23rd after 36 holes with a 152 total (75-77). He is nine strokes behind the tournament leaders, Overton and Heaven.
Lunke is followed by freshman Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.) who shot rounds of 75 and 80 for an 11-over par 155 that ties him for 45th. Sophomore K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.), making his first appearance of the spring, is tied for 78th after 36 holes with a 15-over par 159 (79-80). Freshman Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) is tied for 83rd with a 160 (79-81) and junior Gavin Ferlic (South Bend, Ind.) rounds out the Irish contingent with a 161 (78-83), good for a tie for 86th.
The final round of play will come on Sunday morning beginning at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. This is the final tune-up for the BIG EAST Championship that Notre Dame will host at the Warren Golf Course on April 21-22.
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Ohio State 297-294-591; 2. Indiana 302-298-600; t3. Illinois 299-302-601; Toledo 307-294-601; 5. Miami (OH) 303-302-605; t6. Purdue 301-306-607; Kentucky 306-301-607; 8. Kent State 306-303-609; 9. Northwestern 306-304-610; Kentucky 306-; 10. Michigan State 309-302-611; t11. Kansas State 313-303-616; Iowa 309-307-616; 13. Michigan 308-311-619; 14. Ohio University 307-313-620; t15. Notre Dame 307-318-625; Wisconsin 319-306-625; 17. Eastern Michigan 314-312-626; 18. Marshall 313-316-629.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (of 95): t1. Jeff Overton (Indiana) 72-71-143; Brad Heaven (Toledo) 74-69-143; t3. Zach Doran (Ohio State) 69-77-146; Eric Phipps (Miami, OH) 76-70-146; Shiv Kapur (Purdue) 75-71-146; 6. Patrick Nagle (Illinois) 74-73-147; t7. Eric Jorgenson (Michigan State) 75-73-148; James Lepp (Illinois) 72-76-148; Scott Anderson (Ohio State) 77-71-148; Brian Bickle (Ohio) 76-72-148; Zack Randol (Ohio State) 73-75.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS (of 95): t23. Brandon Lunke 75-77-152; t45. Mark Baldwin 75-80-155; t78. K.C. Wiseman 79-80-159; t82. Scott Gustafson 79-81-160; t86. Gavin Ferlic 78-83-161.