The Irish ended in eighth place out of fifteen teams with two golfers in the top 25 after one day of play at the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate tournament at the par-72 Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.
The Irish endured a tough course at the Crooked Stick, which will host them today for the final day of the tournament.
"The entire field struggled today," Irish coach Jim Kubinski said. "I believe the field average was nearly 77. The day got off to a cold, breezy start. With firm greens running at 12 or 13, very difficult hole locations and the tees set at 7300 yards, I thought it was nearly as tough as Merion (US Open site in June) this morning for all players."
The Irish notched a collective score of 610 after two rounds. No. 8 Georgia is leading with a collective score of 585, and the second placed team, No. 15 Florida State, recorded a collective score of 588.
"We made some high numbers on a few holes, which certainly hurt us overall," Kubunski said. "At the same time, those numbers were less about decisions and course management than they were caused by a bad swing at the wrong time. Our guys seemed to hit 85 percent of their shots as good or better than the field but those few misses we had were bad misses."
Sophomore Cory Sciupider, the No. 3 golfer for the Irish, is currently tied for 19th place, with an overall score of 150. Sciupider golfed a five-over 77 for his first round, and a one-over 73 for his second round.
"Cory did a tremendous job of putting a double bogey and triple bogey in his first six holes of the day behind him and go on to play his last 30 holes in plus 1," Kubinski said. "That showed maturity and patience in himself."
Freshman Liam Cox is also in the top 25, tied for 24th, with an overall score of 151. Cox golfed a first-rounf 7, and shot a 76 for his second round.
"We just need to take advantage of our short iron opportunities and get those short chips up and down," Kubinski said. "We hit enough excellent shots to know we're talented. It's time to convert on the simpler shots."
Only six shots out of the top-five, the Irish will tee off today starting at 8:30 a.m. for their final round in the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate in Carmel, Ind.
Contact Meredith Kelly at mkelly29@nd.edu
