After producing his best performance in nearly two years at the USC Collegiate Invitational last week, junior Josh Sandman might have outdone himself yet again.
Sandman showed why he earned all-Big East honors last year as he posted another impressive performance at the Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational with a score of 212 (4-under par), helping Notre Dame finish in a tie for 12th place with a combined score of 888 (24-over par).
The strong finish placed them ahead of rival Michigan State, who is ranked No. 15 in the country. Alabama finished with first place honors with an impressive score of 849 (15-below par).
Individually Sandman tied for sixth overall, just four shots behind individual champion George Bryan IV from South Carolina. The junior's performance singlehandedly improved the Irish from a 16th-place finish to a 12th-place mark. Needless to say, Sandman has done an impressive job replacing last year's co-captain Cole Isban, who graduated last spring.
Isban's school-record career stroke average of 73.76 is in danger of being broken if Sandman can consistently finish as strong as he has been doing
Sophomore Carl Santos-Ocampo finished second on the team with a solid 222 (6-over par). The underclassman has been somewhat overlooked this past year, yet he currently is fourth-best on the team in terms of stroke average, and is quietly becoming a top-flight player.
"Carl is another example of what our program is about," coach Jim Kubinski. "He is making progress and gaining consistency with his changes. Carl impresses in many ways but is bit underrated at times. It's only when you add up the score at the end of the day that players realize how competitive he is. I expect more that this season."
The team's next event is the National Invitational Tournament at the Arizona National Golf Club March 23-25.
