Junior Mike Quallich verbally committed to Notre Dame this morning to golf at the Division 1 level when he reaches college.

Quallich has been hunting for his dream college since the beginning of this past summer. Although he had multiple D1 offers, he had narrowed it down to Duke, Louisiana, and Notre Dame. 

“It felt like a second home,” Quallich said of Notre Dame. “The culture and drive to be better was the deciding factor for me.”

Quallich praised the family environment created by the Notre Dame team.

“Everyone is fun to be around. But at the same time they are there for one thing – to win,” Quallich said. 

He has also been impressed by the facilities provided by Notre Dame as well as the quality of the golfers on the team.

“Watching some of the players hit balls on the range made me understand the level at which the college players play at,” Quallich said. 

Apart from golfing for Notre Dame, Quallich plans to study business. He appreciates the attention each student receives regardless of why they are attending the university. 

“It is an honor to go to such a highly ranked business school such as the Mendoza School of Business,” Quallich said of Notre Dame’s business college. 

Meanwhile, Quallich has achieved an AJGA Rolex All-American honorable mention after his success in events over the summer. 

This accomplishment earned him a spot in the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Only the top 50 in the American Junior Golf Association get invited to this tournament.

He attributes this growth during the season to his invitation to this prestigious event. 

“It has always been a dream of mine to get to this tournament. To see all of the hard work throughout the year pay off is pretty cool,” Quallich said. 

Quallich finished the year ranked 43rd overall in the AJGA, a ranking that translates to third team All-American. 

It was not all success, though, as his season actually had a rough start.

“It has been a really good growing season because I started off really poorly… I put in a lot of time and determination to get better,” Quallich said. 

His hard work led to back to back wins at the end of the season – one at the Randy Wise Junior Open and the following weekend at the K.J. Choi Foundation Junior Championship.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions will feature 78 male and female golfers who range in age from 12-19. The event will take place at TPC San Antonio on Nov. 22-26.