As the postseason runs deeper into May, Notre Dame men’s golf is on a run never seen before in program history. The Irish, with a third-place finish this week at the NCAA Austin Regional, have qualified for the NCAA Championship held from May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. Not since the regional format’s adoption in 1989 — and not since 1966 overall — had Notre Dame made an NCAA Championship.
Even before their postseason success, the Irish won two regular-season tournaments to provide the foundation for a strong season. Notre Dame captured the Folds of Honor Collegiate in September and the Johnnie-O at Sea Island in March.
“A really good year for Notre Dame golf, both fall and spring,” second-year head coach John Handrigan said. “Anytime that you can win two tournaments in a year, it shows you've got a strong team. And we're obviously in the ACC and we play against the best competition in the country, so coming off of two wins this year, [that] showed you how strong of a team we have, and we're pretty thankful for that.”
Going beyond their results, the Irish enjoyed a memorable moment to end the fall season. Notre Dame men’s golf traveled with the women’s team to St. Andrews Links in Scotland, taking third at the St. Andrew’s Collegiate Invitational.
“There's nothing better than to play at the home of golf in Scotland at St. Andrews,” Handrigan recalled. “And just the kind of friendships that were made — there's just some times that it's more important than golf and what you finish and what you shoot… It was a great way to finish off the fall and just [make] memories that we'll all remember for a lifetime.”
Heading into the spring season, Notre Dame locked into form. The Irish ended the regular season with four consecutive top-three finishes as a team, going as low as 32-under par in their Sea Island win. A usual suspect, graduate student Palmer Jackson, anchored Notre Dame’s run as the only Irish golfer to finish in the top 15 of all four tournaments.
“You can see his performance and stats. He's definitely a great player and helps us out on that level tremendously,” Handrigan said of Jackson. “But what you don't see is his leadership and his role as a captain within our team and his character and what kind of culture he's built for Notre Dame golf… He's extremely valuable for our team, and him coming back for the fifth year here at Notre Dame is a huge part of our success.”
Nevertheless, the Irish hit a bump in the road at the ACC Championship, where they finished in a disappointing seventh place. Going into the national postseason, Handrigan mentioned repeatedly that the team carried a significant chip on its shoulder from ACCs.
“They are never satisfied,” Handrigan said of his golfers. “We've won a couple of tournaments, and the next day they're back out practicing, getting ready for the next event… They want it badly, and their work ethic has been off the charts because they want to compete at the highest level.”
That desire to succeed led Notre Dame to a season-defining performance at the NCAA Austin Regional, hosted by the University of Texas. The Irish shot six-under-par as a team, receiving major contributions from their younger players. Freshmen Rocco Salvitti and Jacob Modleski shined in their NCAA Tournament debuts, respectively finishing in ties for ninth and 15th place. In between them, sophomore Nate Stevens slotted into a tie for 12th place.
With an outstanding team culture in place, Handrigan believes that the best might still be on the way for Notre Dame men’s golf.
“It’s truly one of the best teams I've coached in that area,” Handrigan said of the culture. “And they hang out a lot together, and they're always here at the golf course above what we ask them to do as coaches. They just get along extremely well as a team, and when you do that, when your team bonds like that, I really think that you can excel at the highest level.”
