Modleski, though, overcame those long odds and a long list of contenders going into the final 18 holes on Sunday to claim the biggest victory in his career. 

“I was hitting some putts before I went out for a practice round and someone came out onto the green and said ‘hey you’re in the tournament,’” he said when telling reporters about getting a spot in the field.

“So, it was a really cool moment obviously because you know now how much this tournament means for everybody. Just having the opportunity to play was phenomenal and then obviously playing well was another step for sure.”

Of course, the aforementioned Rudy chants stem from the movie “Rudy,” an iconic film based on the true story of Rudy Ruettiger, who realized his dream of playing football for Notre Dame as an underdog. 

Rudy finally got into a game as the last guy on the bench, and Modleski got into the golf game here as the last guy to make the field for this prestigious event.  

Modleski became the second player from Notre Dame in the last three years to win the Jones Cup, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.  Two years ago, current Irish standout Palmer Jackson won the tournament to become the first Notre Dame player to claim the winner’s trophy. 

Jackson played again this year and finished tied for 21st at 9-over-par. The two Irish golfers took a picture together with the championship trophy following the awards presentation late Sunday afternoon. 

The victory by Modleski made Notre Dame the first collegiate program to have multiple winners in the history of the tournament. Jim Stahl, also on hand Sunday to congratulate the winner, is a Notre Dame graduate and one of the founders of the Jones Cup which was a vision he shared with Bill Jones III, past president of the Sea Island Company which has a deep history with amateur golf.  

“It’s a testament to our team, our mentality,” Modleski noted. “These tournaments aren’t easy to win. And being able to see that Palmer had done it was really a cool example for me to follow. It’s just cool for the team.”  

Modleski was the only player to finish under par after the three rounds this week. He won by a shot over two players who finished at even-par following Sunday’s play. 

One of those golfers was Tennessee sophomore Caleb Surratt who fired the round of the weekend over the closing 18 with his 5-under 67 which gave him a chance to pull out a come-from-behind victory himself. 

The 11th-ranked player in the world, Surratt made his way to 1-under for the tourney with three consecutive birdies on the back nine before a bogey at the par-4 16th which played to a back pin for Sunday’s final round ended his surge and ultimately his title hopes. 

The runner-up finish was the second in a row for Surratt, a former Jones Cup Junior winner who also won the individual crown last spring at the SEC conference tournament played at Sea Island.  Surratt finished second last year in the Jones Cup which ended with a rousing finish when champion David Ford drained an 18-foot downhill putt to claim victory by a single shot with Surratt playing with him in the last group.   

Ford, a Georgia native who plays for North Carolina, finished tied for 16th this year at 7-over the championship. 

Also tying for second this year was Auburn golfer Jackson Koivun who posted a second straight 71 score on Sunday to finish at level-par for the weekend. 

First-round leader Nick Gabrelcik, the world’s eighth-ranked player, made a run at the top of the leaderboard Sunday before carding a 73 score which left him in solo fourth at 2-over. The North Florida player led after Friday’s first round at 2-under and followed that with a 75 in round two. 

Luke Clanton, the Florida State sophomore who led after two rounds at 1-under, slipped into a tie for 11th  at 5-over with a 78 on Sunday.  

There wasn’t a dramatic finish to this year’s final 18, though one seemed possible late in the round with as many as four players sharing thelead with the  final few pairings all on the back side of the challenging course which plays along the ocean. 

But when the final group reached the 15th hole, only high-school standout Blades Brown had a shot at amateur golf glory. 

Brown birdied that par-3 hole over marshland when he hit his tee shot pin high and found the cup on his downhill birdie putt to get into the red again at 1-under for the tournament. His par save with an up-and-down at the next hole allowed him to keep a share of the lead with Modleski who was already in the clubhouse at 1-under. 

The championship was decided, though, when the Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy standout made a triple-bogey 6 at the long par-3 17th hole with some 50-plus people in the gallery around the putting surface. 

Brown, who also would have made for a good underdog story here as a talented junior with plenty of game, found the bunker behind the green with his tee shot. Left with a tough shot from the sand, his ball came out low and hit the lip of the bunker and skirted into the marsh next to the green. Forced to take a drop, his short pitch nudged the hole but trickled past the cup. The 16-year then missed his comeback-putt and saw his championship chances disappear. 

That left him to play the 18th with the winner already decided.  Brown ended up shooting 75 and tying for fifth at 3-over.  

For Modleski, it was a closing stretch that included five birdies in his final nine holes that fueled his improbable triumph by the Atlantic seashore. 

Starting the day three shots out of the lead,  he made the turn a 1-over for the round, but he found his grove as soon as he hit the back nine. Modleski made birdies from 4 feet on 10, 12 feet on 11, 15 feet on 13 and also 15 feet on 14 before another birdie at the par-3 17th which plays toward the ocean in the backdrop for his fifth birdie in eight holes. 

That back nine is one he’ll remember for a lifetime.  “I’ve hit the ball as well before as I did, but to make so many birdies in that stretch was impressive,” said Modleski who signed for a 3-under 69 in the final round. 

“To make all those putts, knowing each one was important, especially on tough greens which were in great shape, it was especially cool when they mattered so much because the leaderboard was tight all week.

“I just kept telling myself to stay patient, wait for those par putts to become birdie putts. If you start hitting a couple close, you can take it really deep. It took me until the back nine of the final round to where I started hitting four or five wedges or irons close, and then when I did, I converted all those putts and the score went down significantly.”

And all those birdie putts in the fourth quarter - er the final round -  made him another Rudy story for good ole Notre Dame. 

Tournament Notebook: