Notre Dame earns opening-night victory over sister school Stonehill

Great way to start the year.

(This story was updated to add new information).

The Notre Dame men’s basketball team opened its season against sister school Stonehill. Both Notre Dame and Stonehill were founded by the Congregation of the Holy Cross over a century apart, so it was natural they would face each other at some point.

While the Irish are a mainstay in college athletics though, the Skyhawks only are in their third season at the Division I level. Talent likely would have decided this game anyway though as the Irish won, 89-60.

The Irish (1-0) trailed the Skyhawks (1-1) for only the first 100 seconds of the game, then dominated in all aspects soon afterwards, at least once their lead reached double figures in the first half. Though they fell three points short of matching their first-half scoring output (46) in the second half, there were times when the latter frame felt more dominant.

Either way, this looked like a team that knew how to play together throughout. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] was able to empty his bench at the end, which was a sure sign of a good night.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] tied for the game high with 18 points each with Burton also tallying five assists. Princeton transfer [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] scored 10 in his first Irish game. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] scored all nine of his points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

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‘It’s holy ground’: As LIV Golf heads to new course in Thailand, one player compared it to Augusta National

“I think in terms of the conditions, it’s pristine.”

After hosting four consecutive events in the United States, the LIV Golf Invitational Series has packed up shop for a two-week trip abroad.

The upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is hosting its first of consecutive events in Asia this week at the newly-opened Stonehill Golf Club, located an hour north of Bangkok, Thailand.  Before the series heads home next week to the familiar Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – the host of the PIF Saudi International on the Asian Tour – players made sure to heap praise on this week’s course.

One player compared the new track to one of the most heralded properties in the game.

“I think in terms of the conditions, it’s pristine. It’s literally — it’s holy ground. It’s so pure out there,” said Anirban Lahiri, who is making his third start on the series this week. “I would say this is the closest you’d come to maybe comparing to conditions in Augusta, just in terms of the pure turf conditions. It’s phenomenal.”

“It’s ridiculous how good it is,” he added.

Lahiri has played in the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club twice, finishing T-49 in 2015 and T-42 in 2016.

Stonehill has been described as a pet project of Sarath Ratanavadi, Thailand’s fourth-richest man, and his son, Saris Ratanavadi. Bloomberg reports that Sarath, the 57-year-old founder and CEO of Gulf Energy Development, is worth $11.1 billion. The tycoon approached LIV Golf this summer and has hinted at other golf tours hosting events at Stonehill.

“I think the good thing is everybody is playing it for the first time, so no one has got an advantage,” said Lahiri, the two-time European Tour winner in 2015 and seven-time Asian Tour winner from 2011-2015. “I think obviously it’s wide open, so you’ve got to hit it good off the tee, but it’s a second-shot golf course.”

“I think I need to eat a lot of curry and pad Thai maybe and help my distance, find another 30 yards before I tee off,” said Kevin Na, who noted the wide fairways will be a bomber’s paradise. “It’s a very, very long golf course.”

“The only thing I feel like that can play in my favor,” explained Na, “there’s good undulations on the green. There’s some runoffs. I feel like you have to putt very well out here, and I think that’s one way that I can make up for the driving distance.”

Na thinks this week’s event will be decided based on how LIV sets up the course

“I hope the rules committee set it up sensible because if you play a back tee every hole and tuck every pin, I just don’t think that’ll be exciting. It won’t be exciting,” said Na, who spoke with rules officials about drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s. “The fans are out here to see birdies and eagles. I’m not saying set it up easy, but I’m saying you have to have a good mixture, and especially with a golf course that nobody has ever played and we don’t know what’s capable.

“I think the first day you have to play it on the safe side and see what happens.”

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From Saudi Arabia to Portland, get to know the courses hosting the LIV Golf Invitational Series in 2022

Greg Norman’s Saudi Arabia-backed 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series will start June 2022.

After countless rumors and speculation, we’re one step closer to a golf league rivaling the PGA Tour.

Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf Investments, announced on Wednesday the plans for the LIV Golf Invitational Series, a eight-event circuit starting in June that boasts $255 million in prize money. The events will feature 48 players and 12 four-man teams. They will be 54 holes with no cuts and shotgun starts.

The series will begin at Centurion Golf Club in London and end at a yet-to-be-determined location with a lucrative Team Championship. Four of the events will be held in the United States, with the others in Thailand, Saudi Arabia and London.

Get to know more about the courses hosting LIV Golf Invitational Series events.

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