Last year, I mused about the possibility of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish doing a little party-crashing in sports for which it is not as well known as football. Partially in an attempt to manifest that into reality and partially inspired by my own embrace of the sport as a hobby in the last couple years, I’m following up on that desire by providing an update for OFD readers on how the Irish have fared out on the links this season. With the season about to wrap up for each team, this is mostly just providing a wrap on how things have gone and highlighting some of the year’s top performances.

Notre Dame Women’s Golf

Per GolfStat the Irish ladies rank twelfth in the ACC, with the team averaging a +16 margin in tournaments throughout the season. However, there have been some major highlights - standout senior Lauren Beaudreau ranks 38th overall in the conference with an average score of +2.8, and recently took third place in the Chattanooga Classic. That tournament saw the team as a whole show a remarkable improvement in finishing fifth, with a score of +12. Montgomery Ferreira and Chloe Schiavone are not far behind Beaudreau in the season standings, ranking 44th and 45th at +3.35 and +3.38, respectively.

Other season highlights include:

• A second-place finish with a +10 score at the Badger Invitational back in September, where Ferreira led all individual players while Beaudreau took fourth place.
• Fourth place at the Ivy Intercollegiate tournament in October, with Beaudreau and Ferreira tied for fourth among individuals.
• Fifth place finishes at October’s Barbara Nicklaus Cup and February’s Columbia Classic. At the Nicklaus, Beaudreau and Ferreira again tied for fourth among individual players.

The Irish will have one last shot to improve their standings as they close out the season at the ACC Championships this coming weekend.

Notre Dame Men’s Golf

On the men’s circuit, the Irish rank sixth in the ACC with an average score of 0.5 over par. Leading the way is senior Palmer Jackson, 15th overall in the conference with an average score of -0.17. Freshman Nate Stevens is close behind at 16th, averaging an even score for the season. The best finish for the Irish as a team this season took place at home in the Fighting Irish Classic at Warren Golf Course back in September, where the Irish shot -16 en route to a fourth-place finish. Stevens has come on strong as the season progressed and provides a great deal of promise for the team moving forward given that he is only in his freshman season.

The Irish also took fifth in consecutive fall tournaments, the Inverness Intercollegiate in September and the Stephens Cup in October.

The Irish have one more tournament in their regular season this year, the Thunderbird Invitational hosted by the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. They will then look to play spoiler in the ACC Tournament from April 21-24. Currently ranked at 51st in GolfWeek’s collegiate rankings and 56th per GolfStat, the Irish are all but eliminated from contention for a spot in the 30-team NCAA tournament, but still rank comfortably within the second tier of contenders and could be a team on the rise moving forward.