Be the ball, Domers
It’s that time of the year again, folks: the ACC Golf tournament is teeing off this weekend, which makes it time for us to take a quick retrospective on Notre Dame’s performance on the links. We’ll check in on the men’s and women’s teams and where they place headed into the main event.
Notre Dame Men’s Golf
The Irish fellas are enjoying a stronger season on the links than they did the year prior, and actually received four votes in the most recent GCAA top 25 poll. The more data-driven Scoreboard NCAA Golf national ranking system places Notre Dame as #32 team in the country, with a 84-33-1 cumulative W-L-T record.* This is good for 7th among ACC competitors headed into this week’s tournament.
Here’s the link to the recap of our final regular season event. The team finished t-2 and Palmer Jackson (grad) finished t-4 individually to lead the Irish.https://t.co/JjEPjVEtpO
The Irish head to Charlotte, NC next week for the ACC Championship (April 19-22).#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/YrALiazUcU
— Notre Dame Men’s Golf (@NDMensGolf) April 8, 2024
Highlights for the Irish this year include:
- A first-place finish in the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate, hosted by the Michigan State Spartans
- Third place in the inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate, taking place at the birthplace of the game.
- Closing out the season finishing first, second, and second again in consecutive tournaments (The Johnnie-O at Sea Island, Schenkel Invitation and Hoosier Collegiate, respectively).
Freshman Jacob Modleski has emerged as the top-ranked golfer for Notre Dame this season, at #155 in the country, with graduate student Palmer Jackson close behind at #185. Nate Stevens (#329) and Rocco Salvitti (#342) round out Notre Dame’s representation in the top 400 nationally.
Their current ranking leaves the Irish on the razor’s edge of elimination for the 30-team NCAA tournament, and they will need to punch well above their weight in the ACC tournament to break through. Let’s see how it goes.
*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.
Notre Dame Women’s Golf
The ladies have had a rougher go this season, currently checking in at #73 in the national rankings with a 62-57-1 W-L-T. This places them next-to-last among ACC squads, with the Boston College Eagles bringing up the rear. However, this does not mean the season has been without highlights for the Irish women.
Graduate student Lauren Beaudreau has been a star all season long, ranking 91st overall in the country (the highest rank for a Notre Dame golfer, male or female), and earning ACC Women’s Golfer of the Month in March with a 70.55 scoring average. Other highlights:
- Like their counterparts on the men’s team, the Irish ladies took home third in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate, a solid finish in a spectacular locale.
- Second place at year’s best-named tournament, The Bruzzy, with Beaudreau the outright winner a 3-under.
While Notre Dame will likely not extend its season far beyond this weekend’s ACC Women’s Golf tournament, Beaudreau could have a shot at being selected as an individual participant if she continues to excel – watch the tournament to find out.