Coming off a win at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational in their last competition, Notre Dame men’s golf made the journey to Knollwood Club in Lake Forest, Illinois. At the course, Northwestern would host the annual Windon Memorial Classic, with a 16-team field competing over two days. The tournament began with 36 holes on day one, which the team left tied for second place on the leaderboards. The second day would not be as fruitful for the Irish as they fell three spots and finished fifth overall.
Notre Dame kicked off the event by shooting nine under in round one. They followed that up with 11 under in the next round. In the last round, they would finish out the tournament with three over par. Ultimately, the Irish carded an 847, 17 under par.
The top performer for the Irish was junior Jacob Modleski, who was extremely consistent in all rounds of the tournament with scores of 70 in round one, 69 in round two and 70 again in round three. He finished the tournament seven strokes under par and with one of the best individual performances, placing eighth on the player leaderboards. He was one of three Irish golfers to sink an eagle, with two throughout the tournament.
Following Modleski on the Irish scorecard was senior Nate Stevens, who would shoot three under par and finish tied for 21st. Carding a 70, 71 and 72 in rounds one through three, respectively, he would finish with his best score so far in his senior season.
Senior Calen Sanderson was looking to continue his early-season success following a team and individual victory in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational. In round one, the senior shot a 70, and in the following round, he shot a 68, the best single-round score for an Irish golfer in the event. After the second day, he would add another 78 strokes to his total, finishing even overall and in 38th place.
Rounding out the Irish lineup were juniors Rocco Salvitti and Christopher Bagnall. In round one, Salivitti carded the best score for Notre Dame that round with a 69. He finished the event just one over par and 42nd on the individual leaderboards. For Bagnall, his best round of the tournament was the secon, where he also shot a 69. His final tally of seven over placed him at 70th place.
Illinois would take victory in the Classic and had five golfers finish with a top-15 individual score. 36 under par placed them six strokes in front of second place and 19 strokes in front of Notre Dame. As for the individual standings, New Mexico senior Mesa Falleur captured the title. Falleur shot 12 under par and led his team to a runner-up finish.
The next event for Notre Dame will be its very own Fighting Irish Classic. The Irish will welcome teams for the three-round competition on Oct. 6 and 7.
