Northwestern golfer Chris Thayer wasn’t allowed to go out and have fun over Spring Break.

“But that’s OK,” he said.

Thayer had something more important to do. Like play in a tournament.

Thayer, a senior, posted the best individual score for the Wildcats at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas. He shot 7-over-par 223, good for 15th place individually. The two-day tournament, which began March 25, was his best spring performance of the spring.

Overall, the Cats placed 12th out of 15 teams. NU coach Pat Goss said the outcome didn’t meet his expectations, but he did see glimpses of improvement. The Cats were in ninth place after a cold and rainy first round, which was cut short because of darkness.

“We were playing great in the first round,” Goss said. “I thought it was going to be our breakout round.”

NU golfer Scott Harrington had the best score on the first day, shooting a 1-over-par 73, with Thayer only one stroke behind.

But the same problem that has plagued the Cats all season surfaced in the second round, as NU’s inability to minimize errors ballooned their scores, Goss said.

“They negated all the good with the bad,” he said.

Bjorn Widerstedt was NU’s second-best performer at the tournament, shooting 13-over-par 229, while Tom Johnson was third with a 14-over-par 230.

The Cats entered the tournament after two of their worst performances in recent memory, finishing last at the Puerto Rico and the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate classics.

This weekend, the Cats hope to smooth out the kinks in their play before Big Ten competition starts next week. NU heads south to Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the Ping U.S. Intercollegiate – their last national tournament of the season.

“It’s an opportunity to prove that we’re as good as we think we are and beat some top-10 and top-20 teams,” Goss said.

Goss said he will be looking for his players to perform like Thayer did during Spring Break. If the Cats can maintain a consistent level of play, Goss said, he thinks they will do well.

“We don’t need to be great,” Goss said. “We need to be functional.”

After a practice round on Thursday, Thayer said he feels confident in the way his teammates played the course.

Goss also said he has noticed improvement from his players.

In addition to Thayer’s performance at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, Goss said he has seen marked improvements in the games of Johnson, Widerstedt and Harrington.

Widerstedt, a junior transfer from Flagler and a native of Sweden, should have a chance to compete for one of the top three spots on the team, Goss said. But he will be better off once he adjusts to his new team, coach and country, Goss added.

Harrington’s game has gotten better, Goss said, but the junior’s scores have not reflected this improvement.

There will be a change in the starting five for the tournament in Tucson, with sophomore Casey Strunk replacing T.C. Ford. Strunk’s play improved during the winter, but Ford has been struggling as of late, Goss said. Ford will still compete in Tucson, but his score will not be counted with the team’s.

Strunk, a Phoenix native, may have an advantage on the Tucson course, Goss said.

League matches begin next week at the Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus, Ohio.