Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Home course advantage (Men’s Golf)

It’s easy to understand why Northwestern golfers Chris Wilson and Kyle Moore can’t wait for this weekend’s Kepler Intercollegiate.

The tournament gives the Dublin, Ohio, natives the opportunity to go home and compete in front of friends and family on a course they have grown up revering.

The event is normally played on Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, which has hosted two NCAA Championships, but it is currently being renovated and will not be finished until June. As a result, the venue was changed to Dublin’s prestigious Muirfield Village Golf Club, just minutes from Wilson and Moore’s houses.

“Chris and I have grown up idolizing that course,” Moore said.

An additional perk is that the course, a PGA Tour stop, will be hosting the Memorial Tournament in just five weeks, meaning the golfers will get to play the course in basically the same condition as the PGA professionals.

While the course is very exclusive, Moore and Wilson are no strangers to it. Moore has played six competitive rounds there, and as a sophomore in high school, he broke 70 for the first time in competition, shooting a 69.

Competitively, Wilson has played in three United States Junior Amateur qualifiers and two high school tournaments at Muirfield Village and also gets to play there with members of the club between two-to-four times a year.

“Muirfield Village is a spectacular place to play golf, and I’m extremely excited to play a college event there,” Wilson said.

Both Moore and Wilson will have plenty of support from the galleries this weekend. One of Moore’s older brothers is flying in and will be accompanied by Moore’s parents, younger brother and the rest of his family. Also, about 50 to 60 of his friends attending Ohio State will make the 30-minute drive down to Dublin to watch Moore play.

Wilson’s parents come to plenty of the events in the Midwest, but the rest of Wilson’s family will join them this week. Wilson also has a plethora of friends at Ohio State and expects about 20 of them to attend.

“It will be a lot of fun to have support out there because in college golf, it’s not too often your friends get to watch you play,” Wilson said.

In addition to all of their friends and family that will be in attendance, Brian Doyle, the father of NU sophomore golfer Dan Doyle, will be coming down from Rochester, Mich., to watch the tournament. Instead of staying in a hotel, he will be staying in Wilson’s room at his house for the weekend.

“I’ve been giving him a hard time about keeping it clean,” Wilson joked.

Both players also will be competing against the same people they grew up playing with in junior golf and high school tournaments, many of whom either play for Ohio State or Ohio.

While they are excited to have the chance to play in front of some familiar faces, they also acknowledged there is some additional pressure, but neither thinks it will be significant.

“They’re all so supportive of me, so even if I play poorly, they’re still going to support me,” Moore said. “I don’t fear playing poorly, but I’m excited about playing well.”

All in all, this weekend’s Kepler Intercollegiate should make for a memorable experience for both players.

“We are returning home to their neighborhood,” coach Pat Goss said. “They are going to get to compete in front of their families against kids they’ve grown up with. If you grow up in Dublin, then Muirfield Village is the revered course, and I think they’re just as excited to play there as they are about anything else.”

Reach Michael Schlossberg at

[email protected].

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Home course advantage (Men’s Golf)