Notre Dame starts its second season this weekend when they travel to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to compete in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational.
North Florida will host the invitational at the Sawgrass Country Club, where national powers No. 2 Alabama and No. 5 UCLA loom.
The Irish fared well during the fall despite not winning any tournaments. They have finished no worse than ninth and as high as second on a number of occasions.
This season continues the team's resurgence under head coach Jim Kubinski. Until the start of this year, Notre Dame's play against nationally-ranked opponents has helped its rebirth. Since Kubinski arrived, the Irish have defeated 13 top-25 teams and posted 12 top-five tournament finishes.
The underclassmen have performed well for the Irish this season. Four of the top five scorers for the Irish are underclassmen, and the two lowest scores have come from freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore Doug Fortner leads the team with a 73.72 stroke average, followed by freshman Tyler Hock, who has a 73.20 average.
Freshman Jeff Chen (73.33), senior Greg Rodgers (73.62) and junior Josh Sandman (74.00) round out the top five leading scorers.
