By John Brice
Special Contributor
Momentum, perhaps, isn’t commonly associated with the game of golf.
Don’t tell that to Notre Dame’s John Handrigan, who after five years as the men’s head coach was earlier this summer named the school’s first-ever director of golf and never slowed down.
In fact, the Fighting Irish men’s program never has been better – and Handrigan has ushered in a brand-new symmetry for both the men’s and women’s programs.
“We say it’s two teams but one program, and we’re really building in that direction,” Handrigan said. “We put that (motto) in this past summer. We’ve always been separate and now we’re doing a lot of things together to make each other better. And I think, you know, two teams is better than one. We’re joining those programs and doing a pretty good job at it.
“Like I said, I think we’ve shown that we can be a powerful program in golf. And with the brand of Notre Dame, the people we get to recruit, the type of student-athletes we have and what we can sell, we can build something special.”
Building off the program’s highest-ever seed in an NCAA Regional, No. 3 a year ago and just removed from the program’s first Regionals berth in nearly a decade, Notre Dame wrapped up its lone home tournament Monday at the Warren Golf Course with a fourth-place finish in the Fighting Irish Invitational.
The loaded field – a veritable Who’s Who among collegiate programs – saw Florida edge Georgia Southern for the crown while the Irish closed out an impressive finish with a team score of 16-under-par, just five strokes off the crown.
“Well, it’s our only home event of the year and it means a lot for our players to play at home,” said Handrigan, who saw the Irish’s home course host a large crowd that required overflow parking. “We had a lot of people out here supporting us, a lot of fans. It’s special to play at home. A lot goes into hosting, but as you can see, we had some of the best schools in the country here competing this week.
“To compete against those schools on your home course is great.”
The event was tangible evidence of Handrigan’s ongoing impact into the program; a showcase event that illustrated exactly why Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick had carved out the all-new role for Handrigan.
“The success our men’s program has enjoyed under John’s…
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