March 12, 2005
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Sunday-Monday, March 13-14, 2005
8 a.m. (ET) tee times both days
TPC of Myrtle Beach
(6,950 Yards, Par 72)
Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Irish Wrap Up Spring Break Trip In South Carolina
Notre Dame will complete its three-week stretch
of tournaments in the southeastern United States
when it travels to Murrells Inlet, S.C., for the
General Jim Hackler Invitational, to be played at
the TPC of Myrtle Beach. This weekend's event
should be the biggest test to date for the Irish,
with four of the teams in the field appearing in
the latest GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches' Poll.
Despite a combination of tricky weather
conditions, untimely injuries and a new head
coach, Notre Dame has gotten off to a solid start this spring, earning a pair of top-five finishes, including a sudden-death playoff victory at the season-opening NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane
Invitational in New Orleans. Last week, the Irish
battled their way to a fourth-place tie at the
inaugural Irish Spring Invitational in
Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., despite their
second-highest 54-hole score of the year.
Quoting Coach Kubinski
"Scott (Gustafson) played really well at the
Irish Spring Invitational. I'm excited for him
and to get him back in the lineup because he
brings a lot of tournament experience. Greg
(Rodgers) also showed a heck of a lot out there
last week. The weather was clearly a factor and
it didn't let us get going. It was just a day of
survival and Greg did really well. I'm very
pleased to have those guys back in the lineup.
"I'm still trying to get a feel for each
guy every time they go out there. Cole (Isban)
has been battling some adversity. He came into
last week's tournament still under doctor's
orders with bronchitis and then he suffered the
eye injury, but he really gutted it out. The
second round put us back a little but I was happy
that we were able to pass Mississippi State and
catch Penn State."
Dates and Times
Teams will play two rounds (36 holes) on Sunday,
with the opening round teeing off via a shotgun
start at 8 a.m. (ET). The second round will also
utilize the shotgun start format approximately 90
minutes after the conclusion of the first round.
Competitors will then return Monday morning for
the final round, which will begin at 8 a.m. (ET)
with another shotgun start.
Tournament Updates/Results
No live scoring will be available for this
tournament. However, complete results following
each day's action will be posted on the official
Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com). In
addition, all the latest information on the Irish
is available on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline
(574-631-3000). Callers should select option #9,
then press #2 for the latest information on the
tournament, as well as any weather or scheduling
delays.
The Tournament Format
A total of 12 five-man teams (60 participants,
with the possibility of some teams fielding
additional golfers on an individual basis) will
be participating in the General Jim Hackler
Invitational. Conventional collegiate golf team
scoring rules will apply, with the lowest four
scores in the five-man lineup in each round
counting toward the team total. Scores by golfers
competing on an individual basis do not count to
the team total.
The Teams
This year's General Jim Hackler Invitational
features a 12-team field that includes the
following squads: UCF (Central Florida), Coastal
Carolina, East Tennessee State, Furman, Kansas
State, Louisville, North Florida, Notre Dame,
Pepperdine, Purdue, UNC Wilmington and Virginia
Tech.
Illustrating the strength of this
weekend's tournament, four teams in the field are
receiving votes in the latest Golf Coaches
Association of America (GCAA)/Bridgestone
Coaches' Poll (as of March 11). UCF leads the way
with 17 points (good for 29th place if the poll
were extended), followed closely by Pepperdine
with 14 points (30th place). East Tennessee State
is next with 11 points (tied with North Carolina
for 32nd place), while Purdue also is appearing
in the poll with three points (39th place).
In the latest Golfweek/Sagarin
Performance Index ratings (as of March 7), six
squads in this year's field are appearing in
Golfweek/Sagarin top 50. Purdue sets the pace at
No. 29, with East Tennessee State (No. 31) and
Pepperdine (No. 33) hot on the Boilermakers'
heels. No. 37 Louisville and No. 38 UCF, along
with 48th-ranked Coastal Carolina also are
showing up on the first page of the Sagarin
ratings. By comparison, Notre Dame is checking in
at No. 62 in this week's index.
This season, Notre Dame has posted a
4-3-1 record against the field at the General Jim
Hackler Invitational. The Irish are 1-0 against
Furman (Windon Memorial Classic), Pepperdine (The
Prestige at PGA WEST) and UNC Wilmington (sudden
death playoff win at NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tulane
Invitational) and have split two matchups with
Kansas State (win at Inverness Intercollegiate
Invitational; loss at The Nelson Invitational),
as well as drawn with UCF (Inverness
Intercollegiate Invitational). The other Notre
Dame losses came at the hands of North Florida
and Purdue, both in the Windon Memorial Classic.
The Course
This week's General Jim Hackler Invitational will
be played at the TPC of Myrtle Beach (par
72/6,950 yards) in Murrells Inlet, S.C. Though
not particularly long, this Tom Fazio-designed
layout utilizes the surrounding wetlands, as well
as numerous tall pines to create a difficult
track that puts a premium on shotmaking ability.
Some of the other notable features of the course
include elevated tees, sloping fairways and
free-form bunkers, all of which have led Golf
Digest and Golf Magazine to label the TPC of
Myrtle Beach as one of the top public courses in
the country.
Irish Lineup
After spending much of its off season practicing
indoors during the cold winter months in South
Bend, Notre Dame has had plenty of time to refine
its play outdoors during the past three weeks, as
it has opened with tournaments in Louisiana,
Florida and South Carolina. The Irish also have
had their conditioning tested with its three
consecutive weekend tournaments, as well as by
the ever-changing weather conditions native to
the Southeast this time of year.
Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind.)
remains one of the anchors in the Notre Dame
lineup this year, having started all seven
tournaments to date. He holds a team-best 73.81
stroke average this year and has placed in the
top-five in three events, peaking with a
runner-up finish at The Prestige at PGA WEST in
early November. Last week, he battled through a
minor eye injury to place 19th at the Irish
Spring Invitational (229, +13).
Junior Scott Gustafson (Eden Prairie,
Minn.) makes his first appearance in the starting
lineup this weekend, following an impressive
ninth-place tie at last week's Irish Spring
Invitational (225, +9) as an individual.
Gustafson still is recovering from injuries
suffered in an automobile accident during the
fall, but he appears to be rounding back into the
form that has made him one of the top threats in
the Notre Dame lineup the past two years. He
leads all Irish players with a 75.00 stroke
average this spring, and has a 76.60 overall mark
this year.
Freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md.) has
shown the greatest potential of any of the Notre
Dame rookies this year, starting six tournaments
in his first year under the Golden Dome. Rodgers
was the top scoring Irish player at last
weekend's Irish Spring Invitational with a 228
(+12), good for a 14th-place tie, the best of his
young career. Rodgers has a 75.50 stroke average
this season.
Junior Mark Baldwin (Laconia, N.H.)
quietly has emerged as one of the most consistent
players on the Notre Dame roster this year.
Baldwin registered his third consecutive top-20
finish last weekend at the Irish Spring
Invitational with a tie for 20th (230, +14).
Currently, he owns a career-low 75.33 stroke
average, which is fourth-best on the team this
year.
Like Gustafson, sophomore Shane Sigsbee
(McKinney, Texas) earns his first start of the
spring after a 34th-place tie at the Irish Spring
Invitational (237, +21) as an individual. Sigsbee
has seen action in four events this year, three
as an individual, and ranks third on the team
with a 75.08 stroke average. He also has two
top-five finishes, including a tie for second as
an individual during last fall's Earl
Yestingsmeier Invitational.
Last Tournament - Irish Spring Invitational
Notre Dame placed in a tie for fourth with Penn
State at the Irish Spring Invitational with a 919
(+55) as they were part of the 13-team field that
battled the elements, which resulted in high
scores throughout the final day at the par-72,
6,901-yard El Campeon Golf Course in
Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Wichita State captured
the team title by four strokes over Colorado
State with an 885 (+21). Junior Scott Gustafson
(Eden Prairie, Minn.) fired a Notre Dame-best
score of nine-over par 225 (78-73-74) to tie for
ninth place as an individual entrant.
The Irish opened up play on Monday with a
solid five-over par 293 in the first round to
place third before shooting a 307 in the
afternoon and winding up in sixth at the end of
the first day. Notre Dame passed Mississippi
State and squared up with Penn State during
Tuesday's final round as the Fighting Irish
posted a 31-over par 319. One of the bright spots
was freshman Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md.) as he
led the charge for Notre Dame during the
tournament with a 228 (76-75-77), including a
scoring team-best five-over par 77 on Tuesday.
Sophomore Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind.), who
suffered an eye injury during play on Tuesday,
shot an 81 for the final round to finish in 19th
with a 229 (72-76-81). Junior Mark Baldwin
(Laconia, N.H.) was one shot back of his
teammate, Isban, after 54 holes of play as he
fired a 230 (74-76-80) to place tied for 20th
overall.
In a return to his home state, sophomore
Tommy Balderston (Boca Raton, Fla.) carded the
best round of the tournament for the Irish on
Monday with a one-under par 71 before turning in
rounds of 80 and 86 to finish with a 237 and in a
tie for 34th place. Junior Eric Deutsch
(Rochester, Minn.) had a difficult outing
throughout the event, posting a 244 (83-80-81) to
finish tied for 56th.
Notre Dame sent five players out as
individual entrants in the tournament. Gustafson
carded the top round for any Irish golfer on
Tuesday with two-over par 74, while sophomore
Shane Sigsbee (McKinney, Texas) posted an 84 to
finish with a 237 (79-74-84) for the tournament.
Senior K.C. Wiseman (South Bend, Ind.) rolled up
an 83 on the day to go with a pair of 79's that
he fired on Monday for a 241 total. Freshmen
Eddie Peckels (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Mike King
(Sidney, Ohio) rounded out the field for the
Irish with totals of 244 (77-83-84) and 247
(79-78-90), respectively.
The Sandman Cometh
Notre Dame announced Dec. 16 that Josh Sandman
(Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford HS), has
chosen to continue his career with the Irish,
signing a National Letter of Intent to attend
Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2005. Sandman
is the first player to commit to the Irish for
the 2005-06 season.
A standout on the junior golf circuit,
Sandman is ranked as the 32nd-best player in the
graduating class of 2005, according to the
Titleist/Golfweek rankings released in
mid-December. The 6-foot-1 Sandman owns a
national junior scoring average of 72.69 in 23
rounds and has four top-three finishes to his
credit in the last calendar year. His best
efforts include a tie for second place at the
2003-04 North Carolina State High School
Championships, a tie for third place at the 2004
Golfweek Invitational and a third-place showing
at the 2004 Carolina Golf Association Junior
Championships. He also works regularly under the
watchful eye of Greensboro-area instructor Kelly
Phillips.
Sandman is the son of Michael and Dawn
Sandman of Greensboro, and he has three brothers
(ages 21, 19 and 13).
Getting Off On The Right Foot
The Irish have posted their best team scores
during the first round of tournament play this
year, carding a 298.29 over the opening 18 holes.
Among those leading the charge in the first round
are the two sophomores in this week's lineup -
Cole Isban (73.14) and Shane Sigsbee (74.25).
Next For The Irish
Notre Dame goes on a nearly three-week hiatus
before returning to the links April 2-3 for the
Augusta State (Ga.) Invitational at Forest Hills
Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The Irish will be
playing in that event for the second consecutive
year, having tied for 14th place in an 18-team
field in 2004. This year's event should be just
as challenging, led by the host school, which is
ranked 16th in the latest GCAA/Bridgestone
Coaches' Poll.
