Sanderson captures individual title, leads Notre Dame to team crown in Canadian Collegiate Invitational

 

   Calen Sanderson is officially on a heater.

   The Holy Ghost Prep product and the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion had opened his senior season at Notre Dame by finishing in a tie for second place in the Folds of Honor Collegiate at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich.

   Sanderson did that one better last week, claiming the individual crown in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational, co-hosted by Penn State and Kent State at the Oviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ontario, and doing it in record-breaking fashion.

   After opening with a 4-under-par 68 over the 7,157-yard, par-72 Oviinbyrd layout, Sanderson tied the program record for a single round with a sizzling 7-under 65. In Wednesday’s final round, he did that one better with a spectacular program-record 8-under 64 that gave him a 19-under 197 total.

   No Notre Dame player had ever finished under 200 for a 54-hole tournament. Sanderson set the bar a lot higher, or lower, this being golf we’re talking about.

   It was Sanderson’s second individual victory as he had captured the title in the Indy at Gibson Bay in March of 2024. But, as I mentioned in my post on the Folds of Honor, Sanderson hasn’t consistently earned a spot among the first five in the lineup for Notre Dame.

   It is a testament to the talent level in Division I college golf that a player of the caliber of Sanderson has to battle in team qualifiers to get into the lineup. But Sanderson has not backed off and all that competition he faces on a weekly basis at Notre Dame is really starting to pay dividends.

   In claiming the individual title, Sanderson outperformed his decorated teammate, Jacob Modleski, a junior from Noblesville, Ind. and No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who was fresh from helping the United States retain the Walker Cup with a dominant 17-9 victory over Great Britain & Ireland at the Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   Modleski hustled back from Cypress Point to finish fifth in the Folds of Honor Collegiate. He backed up Sanderson in the Canadian Collegiate by finishing among a group of five players tied for fifth place with an 8-under 208 total.

   Modleski only trailed his teammate Sanderson by three shots heading into Wednesday’s final round as he added a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 69. He matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Sanderson and Modleski led the Fightin’ Irish, who play out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, to a dominant 10-shot victory in the team standings over the Big Ten’s Michigan with a 35-under 829 total. The 35-under total was the third best in program history.

   Notre Dame went wire to wire as the Irish opened with a 12-under 276, added a 13-under 275 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a 10-under 278 total.

   Michigan, behind two players who landed in that quintet tied for fifth place at 8-under -- sophomores Dean Muratore of Dix Hills, N.Y. and R.J. Arone of Las Vegas, Nev. – never stopped chasing Notre Dame, but couldn’t quite catch up, finishing second with a 25-under 839 total.

   The Wolverines only trailed Notre Dame by six shots going into Wednesday’s final round as they added an 11-under 277 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 279 before closing a 5-under 283.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Muratore posted back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds. After opening with a 1-under 71, Arone tallied a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Missouri, out of the Southeastern Conference, finished 12 shots behind Michigan in third place with a 13-under 851 total. The Tigers got off to a great start, adding a 10-under 278 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening round of 7-under 281 before struggling a little in a closing 4-over 292.

   Rutgers, another Big Ten entry, was another two shots behind Missouri in fourth place with an 11-under 853 total. After opening with a 1-over 289, the Scarlet Knights added a 3-under 285 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 9-under 279.

   Rutgers was led by Lucas Politano, a freshman from Brandon, Vt. who closed with a scintillating 9-under 63 to finish a shot behind Sanderson in second place in the individual chase with an 18-under 298 total.

   Politano’s 63 tied PGA Tour performer Chris Gotterup for the program record for a single round and his 198 total was a program record, a shot better than the one established by Gotterup.

   Politano opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 before adding a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round and was only two shots behind Sanderson going into the final round.

   North Carolina Wilmington, a Coastal Athletic Association entry, finished two shots behind Rutgers in fifth place with a 9-under 855 total. The Seahawks opened with a solid 8-under 280 and added a 5-under 283 in Tuesday’s second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 4-over 292.

   UNCW had a pair players finish among the top five in the individual standings.

   John Logan, a junior home boy from Wilmington, N.C., finished alone in fourth place with a 9-under 207 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Logan matched Politano for the low round of the tournament with a spectacular 9-under 63 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Logan’s teammate, Gray Mitchum, a graduate student from Greenville, N.C., finished among the group of five players tied for fifth place at 8-under. After opening with a sparkling 6-under 66, Mitchum registered back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.

   It was the season opener for Penn State and the Nittany Lions struggled, finishing in 10^th place in the 11-team field with a 19-over 883 total.

   After opening with a 300, Penn State improved as the week wore on, carding an 8-over 296 in Tuesday’s second round and closing with a solid 1-under 287.

   Penn State got a solid showing from Alex Creamean, a junior from Winnetka, Ill. who was part of the quintet tied for fifth place at 8-under. Creamean opened with a solid 4-under 68 and stumbled a little with a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   Michigan finished in 15^th place, Penn State was 16^th and Rutgers was 18^th in last spring’s Big Ten Championship at a wind-blown Five Farms East Course at Baltimore Country Club.

   Backing up Sanderson and Modleski for Notre Dame was Pavel Tsar, a freshman from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. who finished alone in 13^th place with a 3-under 213 total. After opening with a 3-over 75, Tsar carded back-to-back 3-under 69s to help the Irish hold onto their lead.

   Nate Stevens, a senior from Northfield, Minn., finished among the group tied for 18^th place at even-par 216. Stevens contributed a 5-under 67 to Notre Dame’s fast start and struggled to a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a counting 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Notre Dame lineup was junior Rocco Salvitti, who was a top-10 finisher in the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of his four seasons at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Salvitti finished in the group tied for 32^nd place with a 5-over 221 total as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Christopher Bagnall, a junior from South Africa, competed as an individual for Notre Dame and had a solid showing, finishing among a trio tied for 15^th place with a 1-under 215 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Bagnall recorded a solid 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 76.

   Tournament co-host Kent State got a strong showing from Isaiah Ibit, a sophomore from Canada who finished alone in third place in the individual standings with a 12-under 204 total. Ibit started with a bang, posting a sizzling 8-under 64 in the opening round before registering back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds.

   Tournament co-hosts Penn State and Kent State are coached by natives of Canada with Mark Leon at the helm for the Nittany Lions and the Golden Flashes headed by Jon Mills.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings was Michigan State’s Caleb Bond, a senior from Williamston, Mich. who finished alone in 10^th place with a 7-under 209 total. After opening with a solid 4-under 68, Bond matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 3-under 69.

   Bond led the way for the Spartans, who shared sixth place in the team standings with tournament co-host Kent State, each landing on even-par 864.

   Backing up Creamean as Penn State opened its season was Jackson Saroney, a freshman from Syracuse, N.Y. who finished in a tie for 40^th place in his college debut with an 8-over 224 total. After struggling to an 80 in the opening round, Saroney bounced back with a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Zach Smith, a junior from Canada, finished alone in 49^th place for Penn State with a 229 total as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round before struggling to an 81 in the final round.

   Andres Barraza, a senior from Parkland, Fla., finished in a tie for 51^st place as he tallied back-to-back 4-over 76s in the final two rounds after opening with an 80.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was junior Tim Peters, a transfer from Millersville who struggled in his debut with the Nittany Lions. Peters, a State College home boy who was a two-time PIAA Class AA qualifier with Saint Joseph’s Academy, opened with an 80 and had no card for Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Freshman Nick Werner, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Wyoming Seminary by capturing the PIAA Class AA Championship in 2023, made his Penn State debut by competing as an individual.

   Werner struggled, finishing alone in 58^th place with a 247 total as opened with an 85, bounced back with a 79 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with an 83.

   George Mason sophomore David Fuhrer II, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Fox Chapel in 2023, led the way for the Patriots, finishing in a tie for 24^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   A member of one of the first families on the Pittsburgh area golf scene, Fuhrer sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   George Mason, an Atlantic 10 representative, finished in ninth place in the team standings at Oviinbyrd, the Patriots’ 16-over 880 leaving them three shots in front of Penn State.