Oct. 15, 2013
CARMEL, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team improved upon its combined score for the second straight round, finishing in eighth place Tuesday after a final round total of 302 at the Indiana University Crooked Stick Intercollegiate at the Crooked Stick Golf Club.
The Irish carded a three-round total of 912 (306-304-302) to place just four strokes behind No. 45 Florida (300-304-304-908) and five behind No. 50 Indiana (299-305-303-907). Senior tri-captain Niall Platt posted the Notre Dame round of the tournament on day two, logging a two under par 70 to finish in a tie for 15th place at 223 (75-78-70).
“It was great to see Niall continue his very strong and very steady play again this week,” Notre Dame head coach Jim Kubinski said. “He has finished in the top 15 in all three of our events, which sees him ranked in the top 100 nationally, our first player in the top 100 since Max Scodro two seasons ago. Niall had it to -4 through 15 holes as part of his 70, those last three holes were bears.”
Platt, currently the 83rd ranked player in the country, made four birdies as part of his front nine, including a pair of 2s at the par 3 third and sixth holes, to log a 34 (-2). A birdie at the par 3 13th and par 5 15th holes (which moved him to four under on the par 5 holes at Crooked Stick for the week) vaulted the Santa Barbara, Calif., native into the field’s top 20. Consecutive bogeys at numbers 16 and 17 dropped Platt to his final position on the leaderboard.
“I not only appreciated Niall’s score today but loved the bounce back from his highest round of the year yesterday,” Kubinski said. “Again, bouncing back shows maturity and confidence.”
Sophomore Cory Sciupider closed with two birdies in his final three holes as part of a final round 79, landing him in a tie for 29th place at 229 (77-73-79). Sciupider was tied for the Irish lead with freshman Liam Cox with nine birdies during the tournament.
Junior Tyler Wingo carded an even par 36 on his back nine Tuesday, improving his score for the third straight round by finishing with a 75 (79-77-75-231) and a tie for 39th place. Wingo was four over par on the back side during his opening two rounds.
“I liked how Tyler got better with each round,” Kubinski said. “If not for two big numbers yesterday, he’d have beaten the field average soundly. He’s improving each time out in different ways.”
Cox ended up in a tie for 43rd place at 232 (75-76-81), while fellow freshman Matt Rushton checked in with a share of 56th place after a cumulative 235 (79-78-78).
Arkansas’ Sebastian Cappelen fired a one under par 71 to finish the tournament at 212 (70-71-71, -4), bringing home medalist honors by three shots over Purdue’s Adam Schenk (74-73-68-215, -1).
As a team, No. 25 Arkansas posted the round of the day, a four under 284, to close at 875 (306-285-284) and hold off No. 44 Purdue by five shots (295-294-291-880). No. 6 Georgia, the day one team leader, finished in third place at 881 (295-290-296).
“We beat all of the teams we’re supposed to beat but failed to beat several teams ranked better than we are right now, but who we are capable of beating,” Kubinski said. “Our younger players must get better emotionally and, as a team, we need to improve our scoring approaches. We can do both.”
Notre Dame next travels to the Georgetown Intercollegiate on Oct. 21-22 at the Member’s Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md.
Crooked Stick Intercollegiate-Crooked Stick Golf Club-Par-72, 7,290 Yds.
TOP-10 TEAMS (Final): 1. #25 Arkansas 306-285-284-875, +11; 2. #44 Purdue 295-294-291-880, +16; 3. #6 Georgia 295-290-296-881, +17; 4. #31 Florida State 292-296-299-887, +23; 5. TCU 305-301-294-900, +36; 6. #50 Indiana 299-305-303-907, +43; 7. #45 Florida 300-304-304-908, +44; 8. Notre Dame 306-304-302-912, +48; 9. Kansas 315-303-299-917, +53; 10. Toledo 303-313-305-921, +57.
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS (Final): 1. Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas) 70-71-71-212, -4; 2. Adam Schenk (Purdue) 74-73-68-215, -1; 3. Austin Eoff (Purdue) 71-74-72-217, +1; 4. JD Tomlinson (Florida) 72-75-72-219, +3; T5. Paul Barjon (TCU) 75-74-71-220, +4; T5. Rowin Caron (Florida State) 74-71-75-220, +4; T5. Nicholas Reach (Georgia) 73-70-77-220, +4; T8. Michael Cromie (Georgia) 75-74-72-221, +5; T8. Jack Maguire (Florida State) 70-76-75-221, +5; T8. Taylor Moore (Arkansas) 74-77-70-221, +5; T8. Sam Straka (Georgia) 73-75-73-221, +5.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (Final): T15. Niall Platt 75-78-70-223, +7; T29. Cory Sciupider 77-73-79-229, +13; T39. Tyler Wingo 79-77-75-231, +15; T43. Liam Cox 75-76-81-232, +16; T56. Matt Rushton 79-78-78-235, +19.
–ND–
— Tony Jones, Media Relations Assistant