Swingin’ on the edge
Your yearly springtime coverage of Notre Dame Fighting Irish golf checks in a little early this year, getting ahead of the start of postseason play at the end of April. We’ll start this week with the men’s team, who are on in a similar position to where they were at this point last season: on the edge of national competition, looking to gain ground and get into the NCAA tournament.
The Rundown
The first notable event for Notre Dame’s golfers this season actually began outside of collegiate competition, as sophomore Jacob Modleski did Notre Dame proud by advancing to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship in August. This solid finish set the tone for Modleski, who has been Notre Dame’s leader through intercollegiate play.
Highlights for the Irish thus far in 2024-25 include:
- A 1st-place finish at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational Sep. 16-17 (hosted by our favorite athletic program these days, the Penn State Nittany Lions), with the Irish recording a -17 finish that easily led the field.
- Protecting home turf with a 1st-place finish at the Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 6-7, fending off regional competitors in the Purdue Boilermakers and Louisville Cardinals.
- A 4th-place finish this past weekend at the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, GA, breaking a streak of three straight finishes outside the Top 5.
Overall, the Irish rank #39 in the nation with an overall W-L-T of 62-37-2* (seventh among ACC teams), and thus would like to climb at least 9 spots to ensure a repeat appearance in the NCAA tournament.
On the individual level the aforementioned Modleski is the clear leader for the Irish, ranked #22 in the nation with a 68.6 scoring average and three top-3 overall finishes. See Notre Dame’s recent feature on Modleski below for some of his story:
Junior Nate Stevens and sophomore Rocco Salvitti are also players to watch for the Irish, ranked #179 and #319, respectively. These three are likely to be leading the Irish as they look to gain ground in the Haskins Award Invitational at August on April 5-6, followed by the Purdue-hosted Boilermaker Spring Invitational April 19-20. Postseason play begins with the ACC tournament on April 25.
*Quick note to understand these rankings: W-L-T is a team’s won-lost-tied record, based on head-to-head competition. The number of wins indicates the number of teams that finished behind a particular team in a given event, while the number of losses indicates the number of teams that finished tied and the number of ties is just that.