The No. 15 Irish finished strong this weekend and tied for sixth place overall at the Schooner Fall Classic — which consisted of a stacked 15-team field that featured eight teams ranked inside Golfweek’s top 50 — hosted by Oklahoma University at the Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Irish under performed in the first round of the Schooner Fall Classic and finished with a team total of 294. Despite the team tying for 12th place, junior Emma Albrecht had a career day in the first round. She shot for 67, which tied her overall for first place along with three other competitors. The 67 scored by Albrecht was the fifth-lowest round score in team history.
The Irish mounted a two-day comeback by piecing together two strong rounds by scoring 282 and 278 respectively. The final round total of 278 (-6) was the second lowest in program history, and also tied for best round in program history in relation to par. Overall, the Irish carded a total of 854, which tied them for 6th place with the host team and No. 24 Oklahoma. The Irish finished ahead of No. 16 Miami (FL) and No. 17 Baylor University, while also picking up head-to-head wins over Texas A&M, Washington, UCF, Texas State, Mississippi State and Tulsa. Considering the Schooner Fall Classic was chock-full of teams ranked in the top 25 by the NCAA, a sixth-place finish is an early indication of Notre Dame's potential to be a force in the NCAA and the ACC.
Overall, the top performers for the Irish during the Schooner Fall Classic were juniors Maddie Rose Hamilton, Emma Albrecht and Isabella DiLisio.
Hamilton concluded the invitational tied for 9th overall with a three-day total of 210, while shooting 76-65-69, respectively, throughout the three rounds. The 65 Hamilton carded in the second round is the best round shot in program history, and tied for the lowest round in program history in relation to par, with only So-Hyun-Park (2008-09) and Lisa Maunu (2007-08) also carding six-under par scores, both of which were 66’s on par-72 courses.
Albrecht and DiLisio both tied for 21st place overall. Albrecht finished the tournament 67-77-69 for a three-round total of 213. DiLisio scored 75-67-71 throughout for a total score 213 as well. Rounding out the five scorers for the team, freshman Abby Hecks scored 76-73-69 , and senior captain Alison Snakard scored 82-82-74. Heck’s final round total of 69 was a career low for her and helped her tie for 39th overall with a total of 218. Snakard’s total of 238 earned her 80th overall. Playing as an individual, sophomore Mia Ayer shot 77-78-77 to tie for 75th place with a total of 233.
Next weekend, Notre Dame will travel to the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky hosted by the University of Kentucky. The Irish have not competed in the tournament since 2009, when they finished third. The event will begin on Friday and extend through Sunday.
