Vols, Northwestern’s Tseng go low at Fighting Irish Classic

SOUTH BEND, IN.  — Low scores were the order of the day Monday when the Fighting Irish Classic men’s golf tournament concluded its two-day run at Warren Golf Course.

No. 5 Tennessee shot a 10-under total of 270 to leap over 36-hole leader Indiana and leave the Hoosiers and the other 12 teams in its wake with a 10-under 830 total, seven strokes better than runners-up Indiana and Northwestern with host Notre Dame finishing fourth at 843.

Meanwhile, Northwestern sophomore Ethan Tseng carded a course record-tying, 8-under 62 in his tour of the par-70, 7,023-yard Warren designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw that opened in 2000. Warren played host to the U.S. Senior Open in 2019 during which eventual winner Steve Stricker and runner-up David Toms had matching 62s in the opening round.

“During the practice round, I knew this was going to be a precision course, so I didn’t take a lot of drivers off the tee and put a lot of emphasis on precision (shot-making),” said Tseng, who holed out his second shot on the 410-yard third hole for eagle and then added birdies at the par-5 fifth and the par-3 ninth to turn in 4-under 31. On the back nine, Tseng made three straight birdies at the 443-yard 12^th, the 433-yard 13^th and the 210-yard 14^th before making birdie at the 565-yard 17^th hole for an incoming 4-under 31.

Northwestern’s No. 1 player, sophomore Daniel Svard of Sweden, matched par 70 to finish in solo fourth at 4-under 206. The Wildcats as a team totaled 4-under 276. But the Wildcats’ 1-2 punch could not match the Tennessee twosome of Caleb Surratt and Bryce Lewis, who finished second and third, respectively, behind Tseng in leading coach Brennan Webb’s Volunteers to victory.

Sophomore Surratt, the team’s No. 1 player, shot a 4-under 66 to finish at 203, two strokes ahead of redshirt-senior No. 4 Lewis, who shot a 3-under 67 which was matched by sophomore No. 2 Evan Woosley-Reed. Woosley-Reed finished tied for 15th in a group which included teammate Jake Hall, a redshirt senior.

“We didn’t play our best yesterday,” Webb said of his team’s pair of even-par 280s Sunday. “I was very happy with the way we responded. This is an incredible golf course. Bryce has been a pretty good player for us over the last three years but has struggled a little this year. To finish third individually was amazing. Obviously, Caleb is a special player and does this a lot.”

Coach Mike Mayer’s Hoosiers, who were the only team under par after the…