The Notre Dame men’s golf team traveled to the heart of the golf world this past weekend, competing in Augusta, Georgia at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational. The invite was held at Forest Hills Golf Course — widely regarded as the premier public course in close proximity to Augusta National. The Irish shot 856 (-8) through three rounds at the historic venue, their lowest score of the spring season since the Canadian Collegiate Invitational in September 2024. The performance resulted in a fourth-place finish, tied with No. 9 North Carolina.
Sophomore Jacob Modleski led the way for the Irish shooting a 207 (-9) en route to a fourth place individually. Modleski shot -1 in rounds one and three but exploded in round two with a 7-under-par showing. The round was near-perfect for Modleski, who finished with seven birdies and eleven pars.
Freshman Mike Qiu was not far behind. Qiu picked up his first top-10 finish of his career as he shot 210 (-6). His 68 (-4) in round three was the best Irish result of the round. The performance is a substantial improvement for Qiu. He came into the invite off the back of a 230 (+14) finish in Statesboro, Georgia at the Schenkel Invitational.
Sophomore Rocco Salvitti shot 217 (+1), leading him to a second-consecutive top-25 finish. Salvitti’s best showing came in round one as he shot 70 (-2), but his round two eagle on hole six was his highlight achievement of the invite.
The Irish lineup was rounded out by junior Nate Stevens and sophomore Christopher Bagnall. Stevens shot 224 (+7), including a season-low round of 73 (+1), propelled by his four birdies in round two. Overall, Stevens placed 51st while Bagnall finished 70th as he shot 229 (+13) and junior Calen Sanderson competed unattached from the team.
Trailing Oklahoma State by 3 strokes and Texas by 2 entering Sunday’s final round, the Irish attempted to mount a late comeback but came up short. However, being within striking distance of the nation’s top programs should instill confidence in John Handrigan’s team as they close out the season.
With Modleski consistent play off the tee and around the greens, while Qiu gradually heats up, the Irish showed they have the capability of competing with some of the nation's elite programs. No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 13 Illinois all finished just above Notre Dame. The Longhorns and Cowboys took home a co-share of the championship.
Notre Dame has one regular season affair left on the docket, the Boilermaker Spring Classic from April 19–20.
From there, the Irish will compete at the ACC Championships in late April and potentially at NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships in May.
