Men’s Golf
Northwestern saved the best for last. But the Wildcats learned that sometimes the best isn’t good enough.
Despite the Cats’ strongest performance of the spring, a third-place finish at the Big Ten championships this past weekend, NU was not given a team bid to the NCAA Regional championships for the second-straight year.
But sophomore Chris Wilson was awarded an individual bid Monday to the NCAA Central Regional championships in South Bend, Ind.
“It’s very bittersweet,” NU coach Pat Goss. “I’m very disappointed for the players, but I’m excited for Chris because it’ll be good for him to get a feel for regionals, and he deserved it.
“I’ll need a day or two to recover from the team not making it, but then I’ll be very excited for Chris.”
In his nine years as NU’s coach, Goss has had either the team or a player in every NCAA regionals.
“It’s both a good and bad situation,” Wilson said. “I’m disappointed we didn’t make it as a team because we had a shot, but I’m excited to play individually.”
After a dismal start to the spring with two 16th-place finishes and a 15th-place finish, the Cats put themselves on the bubble for an NCAA bid with a fifth-place finish at the Bruce Fossum/Taylormade Invitational two weeks ago.
The performance at the Big Ten championships in Verona, Wis., increased the Cats’ hope for an NCAA berth, but it wasn’t enough.
“We didn’t play well enough to deserve a bid,” Goss said. “We hit a slow start and as our national ranking fell, it decreased our chances.”
Wilson, who was named Second-Team All-Big Ten, had a strong spring, closing the season with three-straight top-20 finishes. He was the Cats most consistent player throughout the season, leading the team in scoring average (74.11).
In his first Big Ten championships, Wilson came out strong with a 2-under 70 in the first round. He finished tied for 13th place with an even-par 216.
The Cats closed the Big Ten tournament with their two best rounds of the season, an 8-under 280 on Saturday and a 9-under 279 on Sunday.
NU finished with an 11-under 853, ending up one stroke behind runner-up Indiana and six strokes behind the conference champion, Michigan State.
The third-place finish was the Cats’ best finish since they won the Big Ten title in 2001.
“We were playing what I knew we were capable of playing,” Wilson said. “It was a big step in the right direction.”
The two most impressive rounds for the Cats came from their two youngest players, freshmen Dan Doyle and Kyle Moore.
After shooting a 5-over 77 in the first round, Doyle responded with a career-best 4-under 68 in the second round. Doyle finished the tournament in a tie with Wilson for 13th place, shooting an even-par 216.
Moore had the best tournament of his young career, firing a 7-under 209 for the tournament. The freshman from Dublin, Ohio, finished in a tie for third place, 10 strokes behind the tournament winner, Indiana’s Jeff Overton.
Moore’s final-round score of 6-under 66 was just one stroke shy of the course record set by Overton in the first and second rounds.
“We knew we had to play well,” Moore said. “There was added pressure, but it was a good pressure.”
Sophomore David Merkow followed up a fifth-place finish in the Fossum Invitational with a 10th-place finish in the conference championships. The Wisconsin native shot a 1-under 215 for the tournament.
Junior Dillon Dougherty shot a 6-over 225, finishing in a tie for 36th place.
“I was glad to see us play better,” Goss said. “It was not a new found excitement, but more of an affirmation of what was already there.”
And although the Cats fell short of the NCAA championships this season, Goss will have his entire lineup back next season.
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
