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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Wilson, Wildcats settle for 2nd top-5 (Men’s Golf)

For a brief period of time in the final round of the Fossum Invitational on Sunday, the Northwestern men’s golf team was in position to win its second consecutive tournament and claim its second straight individual medalist.

After starting the day in third place and only six shots out of first, the Wildcats moved into the lead after the first few holes of the final round. However, they were unable to continue their final-round charge and finished tied for fifth place with Denver, seven shots behind champion Indiana.

Junior Chris Wilson, after shooting rounds of 70 and 68 on Saturday, entered the final round tied for first place with Denver’s Charlie Soule. In the final round, however, Wilson and Soule headed in opposite directions. Wilson carded five bogeys and a double bogey en route to shooting 76, finishing the tournament at 2-under. Meanwhile, Soule shot a 3-under 69 to close at 9-under.

Despite a disappointing final round, Wilson’s runner-up finish was still the best of his collegiate career.

“I just picked a bad day to play poorly,” Wilson said. “I played really well in the first two rounds. The final round was a good experience for me. Hopefully, I will be able to learn from it and do better the next time I am in that situation.

“I wasn’t pleased with my performance, but second place is still pretty good.”

Junior David Merkow finished in 22nd place at 6-over for the tournament. After opening with an 80, his worst round of the season, Merkow shot a 5-under 67 in the second round and a 3-over 75 in the final round.

Sophomore Kyle Moore, fresh off of his first collegiate victory last weekend at the Kepler Invitational, also finished in 22nd place. Like Merkow, Moore was in 16th place heading into the final round but shot a 75 in the final round to drop him out of the top 20.

Senior Dillon Dougherty placed 36th, while sophomore Dan Doyle rounded out the NU contingent in 43rd place.

None of the five players broke par in the final round.

“We were definitely hoping to win this tournament,” Moore said. “We thought we were the best team there, and we still think that. None of us felt like we really played that well, and yet if each guy had done just a little bit better, we would’ve walked away with the victory.”

The Fossum Invitational marked the end of the Cats’ regular season. NU will be hosting the Big Ten Championships this weekend for the first time in more than 50 years.

“My only goal for last week was that we continue to make progress,” coach Pat Goss said. “Everybody is getting closer. We’ve secured our bid to the NCAA Regionals.

“We are at ground zero again. Everything we’ve done leading up to this no longer matters. Our real season begins now.”

The Northwestern women’s team also competed in its final regular-season event of the year this weekend, finishing ninth at the 15-team Lady Buckeye Invitational.

A pair of southern schools, Auburn and Florida, finished in the top two spots, while Purdue placed third.

The Cats were led by junior Alice Kim, who finished the tournament at 4-over to take 11th place. Sophomore Katie Trachok turned in her best performance of the spring with a 24th-place finish. Junior Heather Scholten and freshman Jennifer Hong shared 53rd place, while sophomore Brittany Johnston placed 73rd.

“I think there were some positives we could take out of it,” coach Chris Regenberg said. “This was not our best performance, but we did some things OK. It was nice to see Alice playing well again.”

After nearly a three-week break from competition, the players had some difficulties adjusting to the large greens of the Golf Club of Dublin. The players also used the tournament to shake off some rust in preparation for the Big Ten Championships this weekend.

“I think it was good to compete this past weekend,” Regenberg said. “I think the timing is right, and we are looking forward to a good week. Each player is fully aware that in order to make a run at the Big Ten championship, we have to be playing at our best.

“There’s a lot of talent out there in the Big Ten, so we know we are going to have to play really well.”

Reach Michael Schlossberg at [email protected].

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Wilson, Wildcats settle for 2nd top-5 (Men’s Golf)