It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Kyle Moore and Chris Wilson this weekend. Moore, a freshman, and Wilson, a sophomore, are from Dublin, Ohio, which is located 20 minutes from the Ohio State Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, where the Kepler Intercollegiate will be played Saturday and Sunday.

Both played the course in high school and in amateur tournaments, but this weekend will be the first collegiate experience for them at this course.

“Coming into the spring, the one tournament I really wanted to play was the one at Ohio State,” said Moore, who broke into the lineup two weeks ago at the Courtyard by Mariot Intercollegiate. “I have a lot of friends there, and they were asking me if I was going to play in the tournament. So I worked hard to get into the lineup by this weekend.”

Heading into this match, Moore and Wilson are playing their best golf of the year.

Moore finished a career-best 12th place at last weekend’s Aggie Invitational, including his lowest round of his career, a 3-under 69 in the second round.

Wilson, who leads the Wildcats in scoring average, took 18th place last weekend, his third top-20 finish of the year and second in the last four tournaments.

Moore and Wilson, who live about two minutes from each other at home, played on the same team in middle school but attended different high schools in Dublin.

They played several matches against each other during high school and stayed close throughout.

Wilson and Moore both were recruited to play golf for the Buckeyes, but both decided to play for the Cats.

“It’s hard not growing up being a Buckeye when you grow up in central Ohio,” said Wilson, who was offered the Jack Nicklaus Scholarship from Ohio State. “But in recent years the program has gone downhill and I wanted to get away from home.”

Moore said his college decision was heavily influenced by Wilson.

Both said they expect to have plenty of friends and family at the course this weekend, including their middle school coach and both of their high school coaches and teams.

With the added support, Moore and Wilson said they hope to continue their solid play in the Cats’ last tournament before the Big Ten championships.

“There was a day and time when if you grew up in Dublin, you went to Ohio State,” coach Pat Goss said. “So there’s an element of wanting too go home and show that they made the right decision by going to Northwestern.”

Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].