University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men Continue Fall Season at Irish Invitational
10/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
FIGHTING IRISH INVITATIONAL: The Gophers took a week off following their second place finish at the Adams Cup of Newport in Rhode Island on Sept. 23 but will head to South Bend, Ind. on Oct. 6 to take part in the 2008 Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic. The tournament field will include 87 competitors total, 85 that are tied to a team and two others that will be playing as individuals. Michigan State is the defending champion.
The field is as follows: Arkansas, UC Davis, DePaul, Georgetown, Iowa, Lamar, Michigan State, Minnesota, UNC Greensboro, North Florida, Notre Dame, Notre Dame (B), San Diego, San Francisco, Southeastern Louisiana, Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth.
The Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic will be played at the University of Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course. The par 70, 7,023 yard course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The teams will play 36 holes on Oct. 6 with the morning round starting at 7:45 Central. The final 18 holes will be played on Oct. 7. The tournament can be followed live on golfstat.com.
ADAMS CUP RECAP: So far this season it looks as if last year is behind the current Gophers, as they took runner-up honors at the Adams Cup of Newport, the squad’s second tournament of the young season.
Minnesota carded rounds of 284, 287 and 298 in the tournament to finish 20 shots ahead of third place Francis Marion University. The rounds of 284 and 287 will go down as two of the team’s best scores of all time. The Gophers only scored in the 280-289 range four times all last season.
The Gophers were led by senior Victor Almstrom and freshman Derek Chang, who both recorded scores of 217 (+1) for the tournament and finished in a three-way tie for third. Juniors Ben Pisani and Thomas Campbell shot 221 (+5) for the tourney to finish in a tie for 11th. Senior Yu Katayama was one shot behind Pisani and Campbell with a 222 (+6). As a team, Minnesota led the tournament in par 4 scoring (+8) and par five scoring (-18) and tied for first with 50 birdies. Individually, Almstrom led the tournament with 14 birdies.
Texas A&M won the team title with a combined team score if 856. The Aggies’ Bronson Burgoon took home medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 204 (-12), seven strokes better than his teammate Andrea Pavan.
THE GOPHERS: Minnesota’s lineup will consist of seniors Victor Almstrom, Yu Katayama and Andy Paulson along with junior Ben Pisani and freshman Derek Chang.
UP NEXT: The Gophers will be off until Oct. 20 when they will travel to Washington, Maryland to take part in the Georgetown Invitational. The invite will be played at The Members Club at Four Streams, a 7,100 yard, par 72 championship course designed by Nick Price and architect Steve Smyers.
