After a somewhat sloppy first round of play, the Irish improved in the second round of the Gopher Invitational to finish the day in sole possession of sixth place, thirteen shots back from the leader, Southern Methodist University.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota, The Gopher Invitational is a two-day, three-round tournament played in Wayzata, Minn. at the Spring Hill Golf Club. The Irish are competing against teams from around the nation, including SMU and the ninth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks along with the host Golden Gophers.
In the first of two rounds of the day, the Irish started slowly, shooting a plus-14 302 to land in ninth overall. Junior Connor Alan-Lee led the way for the Irish, finishing one over par after shooting a 73, good enough for a tie for 15th place.
Sophomore Max Scodro, senior Carl Santos-Ocampo and senior Doug Fortner also had their scores counted in the first round, shooting a 74, 75 and 76 respectively.
The Irish came out hot in the second round of the day, however, shooting two-under par 286 and moving up from ninth to sixth place.
Notre Dame was paced in the second round by fifth-year senior Josh Sandman who, after a first round 77, came out firing and shot six under par, which puts him in a tie for fifth place overall at one-under and six strokes behind the overall leader, Minnesota's Ben Pisani.
Another Irish golfer whose first round score was not counted, but came up big in the second round was junior Jeff Chen, who shot an even par 72. Santo-Ocampo and Fortner also had their scores counted in round two, both shooting a plus-2 74. Alan-Lee also qualified individually, shooting a 74, which puts him in a tie for twentieth place overall.
Notre Dame will finish The Gopher Invitational today before returning home to prepare for the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn.