The No. 21 Notre Dame men’s golf team has a chance to measure itself against the nation’s best this weekend as they travel to Gainesville, Florida for the Gators Invitational. After a blazing fall campaign, the Irish kick off their spring season against the likes of No. 2 Auburn, No. 10 Florida and No. 12 Oklahoma State amongst a well-assembled cast of strong programs.
For the Irish to find success against three of the NCAA’s heavyweights, they’ll look to experienced contributors junior Jacob Modleski and senior Nate Stevens.
Modleski, who has firmly established himself as one of the top collegiate golfers in the country, was recently named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List. Just a season ago, Modleski achieved unprecedented success at the ACC Championship, becoming the first Irishman to ever win the individual title.
Stevens, meanwhile, has been no less terrific. He wrapped up the fall season by dominating at the 2025 Williams Cup hosted by North Carolina, finishing seven under par and drilling his third collegiate hole-in-one.
In the fall, sophomore Mike Qiu, junior Rocco Salvitti and senior Calen Sanderson also consistently found themselves within Notre Dame’s top-five. Those three will need to bring their best if the Irish are to turn some heads this weekend.
At the Fighting Irish Classic in the fall, Sanderson shot three under in round one. As he continues to find greater consistency, he can become a big-time player for the Irish this spring.
However, this weekend, all eyes will be on how Modleski stacks up against the nation’s top-ranked amateur golfer, Auburn junior Jackson Koivun. Despite earning his PGA Tour card, Koivun has made national headlines for deciding to carry out his collegiate career with the Tigers. Just last weekend, Koivun spearheaded Auburn’s 77-under-par victory at the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, an NCAA-record score. Individually, Koivun shot 62, 62 and 67 to finish the weekend 25-under.
Renowned for his superb talent, Koivun is widely considered one of the top collegiate prospects in history. If Modleski, who is the 18th-ranked amateur in the world, can out-duel Koivun this weekend, it would signal that the Irish’s ace is capable of going toe-to-toe with professional-level talent.
If history repeats itself, Notre Dame should have no problem finishing top-five. During the fall, the Irish finished in the top-five at every tournament they played, including a first place result at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational in September.
Following this weekend, Notre Dame returns to the links on March 9 at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island Invitational hosted by Rutgers. From there, the Irish will compete at three separate tournaments in Georgia before the ACC Championships in Florida roll around in late April.
Head coach John Handrigan has built a winning roster. With a successful start to the spring season this weekend, the Irish put themselves on track to jump into the top twenty nationally.
