After a frustrating weekend, the Northwestern men’s golf team wanted to leave Greenville, S.C., as soon as possible and put the past few days behind them.
But torrential rain in Chicago forced the team’s flight Sunday to be canceled, and the Wildcats had to stay put until Monday.
“It was kind of fitting with the way we played,” junior Dillon Dougherty said. “I don’t know, maybe we deserved it.”
Hurt by below-average rounds from its top players, the team finished sixth at the Furman Intercollegiate Invitational, 16 strokes behind host and tourney champion Furman.
“I feel like we were the best team in that field,” NU head coach Pat Goss said. “Had we done a better job, we should have had a shot to win. For me, sixth place was a fairly disappointing finish.”
The Cats started off slowly, with rounds of 299 and 306. They bounced back Sunday, shooting a 6-over 294, but the comeback still left them at 35-over par.
Top NU scores were brought in by Dougherty (74-77-70–221), who nabbed eighth place at 5-over, and freshman Dave Merkow (73-76-74–223), who finished 16th in his first tournament as part of NU’s five-player team.
The seniors struggled to bring in solid scores. Casey Strunk shot 75-77-75 to put him in 34th place, and Tom Johnson (77-76-75–228) completed the weekend in 40th place.
“The difference in the event was the play of Tom and Casey,” Goss said. “With those two competing at that level, we can’t be successful. They’re both better players than that.”
He said Merkow’s performance was one of the bright spots of the weekend.
“I was really pleased to see how well Dave did,” Goss said. “I think that added depth to our team.”
The Cats have been lacking a consistent, solid fourth score, Dougherty said, and Merkow’s play showed strong potential for the rest of the season.
Freshman Chris Wilson (77-76-75–228) filled the fifth spot for the Cats, making the invitational the first tournament in which both NU’s freshmen played.
“Those guys have the ability to go low and play well, so we’re excited about that,” Strunk said.
Assistant coach Erik Ciotti said he wanted the Cats to improve before more strenuous upcoming tournaments, and wouldn’t make excuses for their performance this weekend.
“The golf course itself wasn’t that difficult,” he said. “I think in our minds we made it more difficult than it was.”
The Cats will play April 10-11 at the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. Ciotti said they would use recent poor finishes to motivate them to improve.
“The last couple tournaments have left a bad taste in our guys’ mouths,” he said, “so they’ll be ready.”
