Just practice? Not for NU

Intrasquad qualifier determines lineup for Boilermaker

By Laurel Jorgensen

The Daily Northwestern

The three-day golf tournament doesn’t have a fancy name or prominent sponsors.

On the final day, only two on-lookers follow the leaders, who are quiet and tense with concentration.

This competition isn’t listed on the Northwestern men’s golf schedule, but for some players it’s even more important than official events.

“We all want so much to go to the tournaments,” senior T.C. Ford said. “Especially since I’ve been playing in the tournaments for the last couple years, to think of not going is a really big bummer.”

But to play in the team’s scheduled events, players first have to perform here — at the team qualifier the week before.

And the competition is intense.

On Tuesday, the third day of the qualifier for this weekend’s Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind., sophomore Bryson Young, freshman Dave Merkow and Ford played for the final two spots on the team’s weekend roster.

“I think it’s important to have these qualifiers,” Young said. “It keeps us sharp and on the competitive side. If we were just out there slapping the ball around, it really doesn’t mean anything.”

The winner of the qualifier, Ford, automatically joined the lineup behind seniors Tom Johnson and Casey Strunk and junior Dillon Dougherty. Head coach Pat Goss also decided to send Merkow after considering scores from the qualifier.

Goss said the qualifiers are an interesting phenomenon in college golf.

“I don’t know many other sports that have intrasquad competition,” he said.

While other sports teams may scrimmage, Goss said, golf qualifiers pit teammates against each other for the right to compete.

“It’s not only their opportunity to play their way into the lineup, but it’s also their opportunity to show me where their game is,” Goss said. “If they don’t earn their way into the lineup, at some point I’m going to make a decision they don’t agree with.”

The golf course in West Lafayette also will host the NCAA Central Regional Tournament in May, and most of the schools in NU’s region will play at the invitational this weekend. Everybody wants a chance to see how they match up against the competition.

During the round the players remained focused, often quietly walking several feet apart between shots. They offered the occasional “nice shot” or “good putt,” but the atmosphere was noticeably different from Strunk and Dougherty’s more casual practice round a few holes back.

After practicing with Strunk and Dougherty, Johnson wandered up to watch the final holes of the qualifier.

“My round with Casey and Dillon was just fun,” said Johnson, a two-time All-American. “We’re working on things, having a little conversation … these guys are grinding.”

And that’s exactly what Goss wants to hear.

The qualifiers “create a pressure situation at home,” he said, so the team can be more prepared for competition on the road.

“I’m trying to create a little havoc (in the qualifiers) because I want to find out who can handle stress and who can’t,” Goss said.

When Ford finished the round a few shots ahead of Merkow, he secured his spot in the invitational. Goss said Merkow also will play, but Young will have to wait for the next qualifier to try to clinch a spot in the following tournament.

“I think we have to start the whole process over sometime again next week,” Young said. “It never ends.”