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South Bend, Ind. - The Nebraska men's golf team is set to compete at the Fighting Irish Classic this weekend. The tournament will be played at the Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Ind. The beautiful, 7,020-yard course is also set to host the 2019 U.S. Senior Open next year. Action for the Fighting Irish Classic begins on Sunday, Oct. 7 with a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m. The tournament finishes up with 18 holes on Monday, Oct. 8 beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Nebraska Head Coach Mark Hankins sees the Fighting Irish Classic as a great opportunity for his group to respond following their performance in Albuquerque, N.M. last week.
“We want our guys to be able to measure their approach throughout the day and recognize when they may be out of focus,” Hankins said. “The best way to prepare for competition is to continue to compete, and we’ve played a lot of golf this week to get ourselves ready for this weekend.”
The two-day tournament features 15 teams and a heavy Midwest flavor. The Big Ten is well represented as Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin all join NU in the field. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) brings Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Toledo to South Bend. Georgia Southern, North Carolina, Southern Alabama and the host school, Notre Dame, round out the field.
NU will make one lineup change after having pre-qualifying play this week at practice. Lincoln native Patrick Clare will be making his first appearance of the season, replacing Sean Song in the starting five. Clare, a sophomore who attended Lincoln East High School, played five rounds as a freshman and finished the season with a stroke average of 81.
Daniel Pearson will make his second appearance of the year after breaking out at the William H. Tucker Invitational last weekend. The sophomore from Longmont, Colo. tied for first place among all NU golfers and 46th overall after shooting a 223 (+7) over three rounds. This score eclipsed his previous career-low 54-hole score of 224 (+8), which he shot last year at the Jackrabbit Invitational.
Pearson looks to stay confident and take his game to a new level at the Fighting Irish Classic.
“I hit it pretty well and was happy with my putting, but I actually thought I could have scored a lot better,” Pearson said. “I shot two solid scores in the first two rounds but the last round I got off to a slow start and had to make a comeback in the last ten holes. My focus this weekend is to just try and eliminate some of the mistakes I had, especially on the Par 5’s.”
Tanner Owen will compete in his fourth tournament of the fall for NU this weekend. He leads the team with a stroke average of 74.11. He also set a new career-low 18-hole score of 68 (-3), which he shot during the second round of the Cardinal Regional Challenge on Sept. 14. Owen fired a 223 (+7) to tie for 46th at the William H. Tucker Invitational last weekend.
The junior from Parkville, Mo. talked about what he needs to do this weekend to continue his success in the fall season.
“I’ve been working on a lot of tee shots and moving the ball this week,” Owen said. “One of the biggest things for me is to not short-sight myself. It’s really hard to get up and down when I don’t have any green to work with, so I’ve just been working on missing in the right spots and hitting a lot of greens.”
Jace Guthmiller, a senior who’s been a mainstay in Nebraska’s lineup over the course of his career, looks to rebound after his performance in the William H. Tucker Invitational. He got off to a great start, firing a 72 (E) in the first round before shooting a 78 (+6) and an 81 (+9) in the last two rounds.
He talked about the approach he took this week in practice.
“Last Saturday I thought I played a solid first 18 holes but started to lose some confidence after missing a few shots in the second round,” Guthmiller said. “I played 36 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week and I feel more prepared than I did going into last week. In those 36-hole days, I just have to find a way to stay energized.”
Senior Jackson Wendling rounds out the Husker lineup. He was the top finisher for Nebraska at the Rod Myers Invitational on Sept. 9 after shooting a 226 (+10). Wendling finished third and fourth amongst NU golfers in the past two tournaments. He’s looking to play his best golf of the year this weekend as the Huskers stay in the Midwest for the Fighting Irish Classic.
Fighting Irish Classic
Sunday, Oct. 7 – Monday, Oct. 8
South Bend, Ind. – Warren Golf Course
Par 71 – 7,020 yards
Live scoring: Golfstat.com
Format
- Sunday, Oct. 7 – 36 holes starting at 7:45 a.m. CT
- Monday, Oct. 8 - 18 holes starting at 7:30 a.m. CT
Field
- Georgia Southern
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Iowa State
- Miami (OH)
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Northern Illinois
- Southern Alabama
- Southern Illinois
- Toledo
- Wisconsin
Nebraska Lineup