The Northwestern men’s golf team is entering the Big Ten championships in Iowa City, Iowa, today as an underdog.
This is certainly a change for the Wildcats, who are the three-time defending conference champions.
The season has not been kind to NU, which has not won a tournament all spring.
In order to win their fourth title, the Cats need to pull off their best performance of the season. If NU can do that, it will become the first team to win four straight conference crowns since Ohio State in 1986.
“Based on the quality of our game, we have to play much closer to perfect,” NU coach Pat Goss said. “We have less room for error this year.”
Goss said he is confident that his team’s experience at this event will lead it to success this weekend. Six members of this year’s squad have championship rings.
The Cats also have the advantage of reputation – excluding any fifth-year seniors, nobody at this year’s Big Tens has seen anyone but NU win the tournament.
“Nobody is going to win until they take it from us,” NU golfer Chris Thayer said, “and we’ve held onto our trophy pretty tight these last three years.”
Thayer said the Cats will try to sneak up on other teams who may not be expecting them to play well this weekend.
“The fact that we’re an underdog doesn’t hurt us at all,” said Thayer, a senior.
Thayer said NU hopes to start by outplaying last year’s runner-up and this year’s favorite, Purdue, in today’s first two rounds.
Goss will be using a starting squad of Scott Harrington, Tom Johnson, Casey Strunk, Thayer and Bjorn Widerstedt. Harrington, Johnson and Thayer all played in last year’s Big Tens. Widerstedt also is coming off an eighth-place finish at last week’s Bruce Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational.
This weekend’s conference tournament will be crucial for the Cats, who are on the bubble for an NCAA bid. NU, which is currently ranked sixth in District IV, must beat at least Ohio State to secure a bid.
Of course, winning it all wouldn’t hurt either.
“We’re pretty focused on winning, and winning includes beating (Ohio State),” Thayer said.
To win the entire tournament, the Cats will have to top teams such as No. 21 Purdue, No. 23 Minnesota and No. 27 Michigan State. NU placed ahead of Ohio State in both of their meetings this spring.
If the No. 64 Cats are unable to defeat Ohio State, the only other way they can receive a bid is by being selected at-large by the NCAA golf committee.
Despite the pressure, the Cats remain optimistic about the tournament.
“There’s just something about our team and this event,” Thayer said. “Everybody’s coming together and starting to play some good golf.”
