The men’s golf team headed to Manhattan, Kan., on Tuesday for the NCAA Central Regional qualifier with one goal in mind — making it to the NCAA Championships.
Northwestern enters as the No. 10 seed in the tournament, which begins today, despite having only two top-10 finishes this year. There are a total of 27 teams competing at the Colbert Hills Country Club — only 10 will move on to the NCAA Championships.
The field consists of six teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation, including No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma State.
“It’s a good, strong region,” NU coach Pat Goss said. “It’s very deep. You’re going to have to play well to advance. I think we’re good enough to do it.”
The Cats need the trio of Tom Johnson, Bjorn Widerstedt and Scott Harrington to play well this weekend in order to have a chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Johnson has played the best of the three in the past two tournaments, including a second-place showing at the Big Ten championships. His play earned him All-Big Ten Tournament and first-team All-Big Ten honors.
With his recent success, the junior has climbed back to No. 27 in the individual rankings. Johnson, who finished the fall season ranked No. 6, will face some stiff competition for the individual crown.
Oklahoma State’s Hunter Mahan recently captured the Ben Hogan Award, given to the top golfer in the country, sharing the honor with Arizona’s Ricky Barnes. Minnesota’s Matt Anderson recently won the Big Ten individual title when he sank a 30-foot putt on the final hole to defeat Johnson by a stroke.
NU’s Bjorn Widerstedt played well in the middle of the season with a pair of top-10 finishes in March. But the senior has failed to place in the top 20 in any tournament since then.
“I played pretty bad for three straight tournaments,” Widerstedt said. “Last week I was starting to play better. I have to take it one shot at a time, but I feel good about my game.”
Scott Harrington’s erratic play also has been a cause for concern. After winning the Rice Intercollegiate held February 10-11 he’s only cracked the top 20 once.
The Cats will also be looking for a strong performance from junior Casey Strunk after his breakout play in the Big Ten championships. Strunk’s final-round 69 was one of his best performances this season.
“The course is set up for me,” Strunk said. “It’s wide open. I just have to hit it, go find it and get some birdies in between. I can’t just be a good number five guy.”
Rounding out the Cats’ lineup will be junior T.C. Ford. He also had a good showing at the conference tournament, finishing ahead of both Widerstedt and Harrington.
The Cats are looking to qualify for their fifth NCAA Championships since 1997.
