Jackson leads Irish at ACC Championships

The Notre Dame men's golf team competed in the final event on its schedule for the 2022-23 season this weekend. The Irish traveled to the Dogwood Course at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, North Carolina to compete in this year's ACC Championship. Coming off of their best finish in program history in the event a year earlier, coming in fifth place in 2022, the Irish dropped to 10th place on this year’s leaderboard.

Unsurprisingly, senior Palmer Jackson led the way for Notre Dame. Jackson's performance in the ACC Championship came on the heels of being named a finalist for the 2023 Byron Nelson Award. The three-time PING All-Midwest Region golfer will find out May 10 if he wins this illustrious honor, awarded to a graduating senior for their achievements on the course, in the classroom and in their community. Over the weekend, Jackson was once again on his A-game and was a model of consistency. Jackson shot a 72 in all three rounds to finish even in the tournament, good enough to finish in a tie for 16th. Single-digit strokes separated Jackson and individual winner Michael Brennan of Wake Forest. Jackson was one of just 14 out of 58 competitors to finish even or better on par fours throughout the event.

Jackson was not the only Irish golfer to have some excellent swings over the weekend, though. Junior Angelo Marcon also notched a top-30 finish, shooting 73-72-74 to finish three over par. Graduate student Andrew O'Leary was great on par fives, finishing at a tie for 12th with a score five under par on the course's longest holes. For most pars in the tournament with 36, freshman Nate Stevens finished in a tie for 12th as well.

The ACC Championship was the 11th event the Irish competed in this year. Their season began back in early September at Warren Golf Course. The Irish competed in five events in the fall semester and six in the spring. Their best finish was a fourth-place result in the season-opening competition at Warren from Sept. 4 to 5.