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Skilled all-around player who has been a leading contributor since coming on strong in spring of ’98 ... has been a streaky player at times in his career–as seen by his range of scores in the fall of ’98 (low of 71, high of 85) and the fall of ’99 (67-82) ... has made strides in overall consistency ... an emotional player who continues to focus on harnessing those emotions when needed ... has good power and a strong short game ... combines with classmate Todd Vernon and sophomore Steve Ratay to give the Irish three players that are capable of medalist finishes (he owns three career top-three finishes) ... made key enhancements to his swing in fall of ’98 ... an Academic All-America candidate with a 3.75 cumulative GPA as an accounting major ... has posted a significantly better stroke average in his career spring tournaments (75.03) than in the fall (76.64) ... his 75.88 career stroke average combines with Vernon’s 75.48 to make them one of the top classmate duos in Irish golf history, bested only by the 1956-58 tandem of Charles Thurn (74.43) and Joe Grace (74.56) ... played his way into the 1998 U.S. Amateur Championship ... has shown uncanny ability of finding different ways to post low numbers ... earned his first tournament appearance in fall of ’96 at challenging San Francisco Invitational, after fourth-place showing at ’96 Campus Championship ... his impressive run at the Campus Championship included placing fourth as a freshman (303), edging Vernon by a shot for the ’97 title (298), losing in a playoff to Brad Hardin in ’98 (292) and winning by a five-stroke cushion in ’99 (292; career average of 74.06, all at South Bend’s Blackthorn Golf Club) ... named to the Dean’s List in all seven of his semesters–including a 4.0 GPA in the spring of ’97 and a 3.93 in the spring of ’99 ... one of 32 current Notre Dame student-athletes who are invited participants in Academic Honors Program, which pairs top student-athletes with faculty member mentors (his mentor is accounting professor Bob Williamson) ... joined teammates Willie Kent and Brad Hardin on the 1999 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholar team.
IN THE IRISH RECORD BOOK: Ranks seventh in Notre Dame history for career stroke average (75.88), third-best since 1970 and second among players with 60-plus rounds (74) ... one of two golfers who have posted two season stroke averages of 75.65 or lower, with a 75.48 as a sophomore (12th in Irish record book) and 75.65 as a junior (Bob Wilson posted a 74.30 in ’68-’69, 75.70 in ’69-’70) ... his five-under 67 in first round of the Air Force Invitational (fall ’99) ranks third in Irish history (Vernon shot 66 in that round, for the best score by an Irish golfer since ’63) ... one of six Irish golfers who have posted two rounds in the 60s (he shot a two-under 69 at the Marshall Invitational in the spring of ’98) ... totaled four-under 209 in that tournament for the best recorded 54-hole tournament score ever by an Irish golfer (it equaled the program’s best score in relation to par) ... fired three-over 219 at the Air Force Invitational in the fall of ’98 to become first Irish golfer ever to break 220 in three college events ... owns 16 career rounds of par or lower, 38 of 75 or lower and just 13 in the 80s ... has posted team-best score in four tournaments ... ranked sixth among Irish players in the ’90s for rounds played (74) and rounds counted to team score (62), seventh in percentage of rounds counted (.838) ... has finished in the top three of three career tournaments (fourth-best in Irish history) ... owns two other career top-20 finishes ... has shot 71 or lower 12 times, with six in the first rounds of tournaments (four in the second, two in the third) ... has posted 16 career rounds of par or lower, 45 rounds of 75 or lower and 13 in the 80s.
SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS: Accepted an internship in summer of ’99 with accounting firm of Ernst and Young, after summer of ’98 season that included qualifying score of 76 at Wisconsin State Open qualifying (Washington County Golf Course; Hartford, Wis.), in addition to placing 11th in Wisconsin State Amateur at LaCrosse Country Club (75-75-77-77) ... tied for third at Wisconsin Amateur Match Play qualifying (71; Branch River Country Club) before losing in the second round ... fired 69-73 (142) at Watertown (Wis.) Country Club to advance from his district qualifying for the ‘98 U.S. Amateur ... shot 76-70 (146) at U.S. Amateur (Oak Hill Country Club), missing cut to match play by one shot ... his ’97 summer included firing a 77 at The Bog Course (Saukville, Wis.) to qualify for State Amateur Match Play ... tied for 23rd in ’97 State Amateur (73-77-76-79), at Northshore Country Club in Mequon, Wis.
AS A SENIOR (FALL OF ’99): Ranked fourth on talented squad with 75.30 stroke average that was inflated somewhat due to wrist injury at The Legends of Indiana Intercollegiate (he averaged 74.38 in the other three tournaments) ... counted to team score in seven of 10 rounds ... opened with career-best round of five-under 67 at Air Force Invitational (Eisenhower Blue Course), closing with 82-75 for 224 total and share of 36th in 119-player field ... withdrew from first round at the Legends of Indiana due to wrist injury before playing through the pain in final two rounds (80-78) ... came back in fine fashion, tying for 19th in 98-player field at the Xavier Invitational, with rounds of 74-71-74 at the Grizzly Tournament Course ... closed fall with rounds of 78-74 (152) to tie for 26th out of 90 golfers at Louisville Intercollegiate ... opened fall semester by continuing his mastery at Campus Championship, winning by five strokes at South Bend’s Blackthorn Country Club with rounds of 74-73-74-71 (292), with 14 birdies (on 11 different holes).
AS A JUNIOR: Posted 13th-best season average in Irish history while ranking third on team (75.65) ... counted to team score in 26 of 31 rounds ... averaged 76.00 in five fall events, 75.39 in the seven spring tournaments ... posted six rounds of par or better, 18 of 75 or lower and just five in the 80s ... led Irish in season-opening Air Force Invitational, tying for 26th with three-over 219 (71-73-75) ... struggled in final round of Iowa Intercollegiate (75-72-85/232) ... used strong second round to tie for 26th at Legends of Indiana (75-77-77/229) ... played strong at Louisville Intercollegiate, where his 14th-place finish (72-81) helped Irish finish second at 20-team event ... closed fall with disappointing 83-78 (161) at BIG EAST Championship (TPC Avenel) ... opened spring with rounds of 79-78 at Golden Ocala Invitational before missing first two rounds of Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate (he shot 73 in third round, at the Tanglewood Resort in Pottsboro, Texas) ... placed second in 90-player field at Kentucky’s Johnny Owens Invitational, shooting under par in every round (70-71-71/212) ... tied for 24th out of 100 golfers at Marshall Invitational (78-73-74/225) ... closed spring by finishing outside the top 40 at Ohio State Intercollegiate (78-82-80/241), Kent Cobra Collegiate (75-72-73/220) and Michigan Invitational (77-79-73/229) ... lost to Brad Hardin in one-hole playoff at ’98 fall Campus Championship, with rounds of 72-73-73-74 (292) at Blackthorn.
AS A SOPHOMORE: Surged in spring to finish with 75.48 stroke average for ’97-’98 ... counted to team score in 25 of 27 rounds ... his 74.14 spring average was second on squad, just behind Willie Kent’s 74.07 (they were separated by just one shot) ... posted par or better in eight rounds, 75 or lower in 14 rounds and 80-plus just three times ... his spring highlights included third at the Butler Spring Invitational and runner-up at the Marshall Invitational ... opened fall with 225 at the Air Force Invitational (78-75-72) and a 237 at the Iowa Intercollegiate (78-81-78) ... continued his slump with 164 at BIG EAST Championship (76-88, at Blackthorn) before rebounding with team-best 217 (+1) at Legends of Indiana to earn 21st place in 90-golfer field ... closed fall with 157 at Louisville Intercollegiate (77-80) ... opened spring with 74-78-76 at Golden Ocala Invitational (228) ... counted to team score in final 12 rounds of the spring ... used an opening-round 71 to claim lead at Butler Spring Invitational before carding a 77 to drop behind teammates Bryan Weeks (143) and Kent (147) while helping Irish claim the title of 16-team event ... struggled next week at Kentucky Invitational (79-75-75/229) before bouncing back to earn a share of second place at the 100-golfer Marshall Invitational, where he fired rounds of 70-69-70 for a four-under 209 and the top 54-hole score in Irish golf history ... closed with a 224 at Ohio State Intercollegiate (72-77-75) ... opened ’97-’98 school year by edging Vernon by one shot to win ’97 fall Campus Championship, where he shot even-par 144 the first weekend (71-73) before adding 154 the second week (74-80) for a 298 total at Blackthorn.
AS A FRESHMAN: Appeared in two tournaments during the 1996-97 season, averaging 79.83 strokes per round ... made his first appearance for the Irish at the University of San Francisco Invitational, carding a 248 on challenging Olympic Club Lake Course ... made spring break trip to Florida, shooting 231 (82-73-76) at Golden Ocala Invitational ... made an impressive fourth-place showing at the Campus Championship, totaling a 303 (two shots behind Joel Hepler, four back of Brian Donohoe) ... closed strong for fourth-place finish in the 1996 Campus Championship (81-76-74-72/303), held at Blackthorn.
PREP & PERSONAL: Earned four letters in golf at Aquinas High School ... four-year team captain ... won individual state title for private schools as a junior (76-74), at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison ... named first team all-state and academic all-state as a junior and a senior ... conference player of the year as a senior ... city champion in ’94 and '96 ... won ’94 Mike Bencriscutto Junior Masters match play tournament (Racine, Wis.) ... president of the National Honor Society at Aquinas ... born July 8, 1978, in LaCrosse, Wis. ... son of Joseph and Pauline Connell ... full name is Jeffrey Alan Connell ... an accounting major in the College of Business.
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