In the past two tournaments, the Northwestern men’s golf team has put itself in contention for a win in the final round. But the problem for the Wildcats has been putting together a full team effort in all three rounds to pull out a victory.

The Cats again put themselves in position for a win in the first two rounds of The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. After a strong first day, NU found itself tied for 3rd, five shots back heading into the final round today.

The Cats have steadily improved their finishes in each of their tournaments. Although they started dismally with a 13th place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational on September 19-20, the Cats responded with a fifth-place finish at their home event, the Windon Memorial Classic in Glenview, Ill., on October 6-7.

The following week at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif., the golfers continued to excel and actually found themselves in first place after 36 holes before being surpassed by a hot California team in the final round for the second straight week.

With the field at the Prestige incredibly strong — all 15 teams are ranked in the top 100 — the Cats found themselves in fifth place after the first round on Monday, although they were only three shots out of the lead. In the afternoon, scoring across the board went up, but NU trails leader Texas Christian by only five strokes.

“In the second round the wind started blowing, and it got real cold,” senior Tom Johnson said. “We are there, though, and I’m sure we have a shot at (the championship).”

Coming off his recent invitation to the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, a prestigious tournament that invites only the top 29 collegiate golfers in the nation, Johnson responded with All-America caliber play with a 5-under 67 in the first round. Despite battling tough conditions in the afternoon, he managed to hang on and shoot a 3-over 75 to keep himself in contention for the individual crown.

“I was very happy with my play today, ” Johnson said. “I am definitely in contention for tomorrow.”