Notre Dame, Belisle Win 2023 Folds of Honor Collegiate
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. - In a thrilling final round that saw numerous lead changes, Notre Dame (team) and Kansas’ Cecil Belisle (individual) captured victory Wednesday at the 2023 Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes Golf Club.
After a weather delay that lasted two hours and 17 minutes began the round, battles on the back nine took place on both the team and individual leaderboards. Seven golfers finished within two shots of Belisle, including second-place finishers Angelo Marcon (Notre Dame) and Jack Tanner (Memphis) who recorded the only two final-round scores in the 60s.
“It started on No. 8 for me,” Marcon said. “Things weren’t going well, and I just kept telling myself that something good was going to happen. I made a 40-footer on 8 for birdie and then I was off and running.”
“You never know when the next time you’re going to be able to play in an event something like this, so it eased my mind and allowed me to play some really good golf,” he continued. “I didn’t really know how the team was doing, but I felt some really good vibes. We’re really good at that regardless of how we’re playing. It was a lot of fun, especially with all of the cameras watching. I love showing people what I can do.”
Belisle, the 2022 NJCAA Jack Nicklaus Award winner at South Mountain Community College, began the round three shots back and held off fierce competition to capture his first career victory at the NCAA Division I level.
“I played steady, committed to my shots, had fun with it, and enjoyed the moment,” said. “This week was, in my way, a new opportunity to glorify God in how I play the game. It was a great opportunity for me to do that and I thought that I did a great job of it.”
Making his collegiate debut this week, Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski shot an even-par 71 on Wednesday that included an all-important eagle on the 538-yard 18th hole for his best score of the week.
“It was good to hit the fairway,” said the Noblesville, Ind. native. “It’s a hole where you can score if you’re in a good position off the tee. It was a lot of fun to see that go in with some coaches, family, and friends around the green.”
Fighting Irish head coach John Handrigan valued the importance of this week and event with his program.
“This week was bigger than golf,” he said. “The vibe that you have here is a different feel, and we wanted to represent ourselves the best. It’s special when you can make things like that happen under that amount of pressure.”
About Folds of Honor
Folds of Honor is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military members who have fallen or been disabled while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Beginning in 2022, it expanded its mission to include first responders. Our educational scholarships support private school tuition or tutoring in grades K-12, tuition for college, technical or trade school and post-graduate work, including a master’s degree, doctorate, or professional program. Funds for a second bachelor’s degree or trade/technical program certification are also available. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded about 44,000 scholarships totaling about $200 million in all 50 states. Among the students served, 41 percent are minorities. It is rated a four-star charity by Charity Navigator and Platinum on GuideStar. It was founded by Lt Col Dan Rooney, the only-ever F-16 fighter pilot (with three combat tours in Iraq) and PGA Professional. He is currently stationed at Headquarters Air Force Recruiting Service Detachment 1, at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. For more information or to donate in support of a Folds of Honor scholarship visit foldsofhonor.org.
About American Dunes Golf Club
In 2006, the Grand Haven Golf Club hosted a small golf tournament that would inspire the formation of Folds of Honor. The Grand Haven Golf Club closed in 2018 and a small group of patriots joined together with Jack Nicklaus to create American Dunes. The mission of American Dunes is unwavering. We are honored to raise awareness and funds for the families of our fallen and disabled veterans. Jack Nicklaus led the project by donating his $3,000,000 design fee, a group of 18 individuals sponsored a hole and five private investors joined together to preserve the birthplace of Folds of Honor. The grand opening of American Dunes Golf Club took place on May 2, 2021, and the Club donated $1.1 million to Folds of Honor in 2022. Please visit www.americandunesgolfclub.com for more information.
About Golf Coaches Association of America
Established in 1958, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) is the professional organization of men's collegiate golf coaches. The GCAA's mission is to support its member coaches from six divisions, including the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA, by creating educational opportunities, providing resources, and promoting its members with the purpose of enhancing their overall performance as coaches, mentors, and teachers. The GCAA also recognizes the excellence and achievements of its members and their student-athletes in academic, athletic, and civic endeavors. For more information about the GCAA, please visit www.collegiategolf.com.
About HNS Sports Group
HNS Sports Group is well-positioned to assist companies that find value in the golf industry and build and execute comprehensive golf branding or sponsorship strategies. Effectively understanding the golf marketplace today is a significant challenge, the HNS Sports Group team possesses over 125 years of collective experience that is applied to lead companies in their efforts to maximize value from golf sponsorship and event participation.