Notre Dame finished in seventh place in a field of 18 at the Redhawk Invitational in Washington over the weekend with a final composite score of 25 over par. The tournament took place at Chambers Bay Golf Course, the host of the 2015 U.S. Open.
“I thought we had a solid performance, earning an 11-6 win-loss record for the week, but had a chance at a win or certainly a top-three finish after those first few holes in the final round,” Irish head coach Jim Kubinski said. “We just needed to finish it out stronger, something our young team will learn to do. A lot of our sport is how quickly you can acclimate to the conditions and course, something we do extremely well at home and are now learning to do on the road.”
The Irish played competitively in their first two rounds, while staggering a bit in the final round. Freshman Davis Lamb paced Notre Dame, finishing tied for tenth place overall at three strokes over par.
“Davis keeps growing every time out,” Kubinski said. “His game keeps improving and his confidence has to be high after leading our team the last two events. A top-10 finish in a 92-player field, especially as a freshman, shows where he can go from here. He is a talented and dedicated player.”
Notre Dame put up a fight at the tournament, which was hosted by Seattle and won by Iowa State’s five-over-par 853. Kubinski expressed satisfaction with the performance, while still noting his squad has room for improvement.
“We went 11-6 without our best possible play, so the message is to keep growing and improving, which will lead to a high level of success for our team,” said Kubinski. “We are very much focused on a strong performance at home on the 15th, which is a great opportunity to continue building momentum as we head to the postseason.”
The Irish hope a solid performance at the Redhawk Invitational may springboard them to an even better Battle at the Warren, the upcoming home tournament, on April 15.
“We have had a phenomenal record at home these last couple of years,” said Kubinski. “I believe we have had just two losses against 35 to 40 wins on our Warren the last two years, so we will not look to adjustments as much as focusing on the things we need to do, in all environments, to enjoy success and executing those things.”
