Over the Halloween weekend, the Northwestern women’s golf team put the finishing touches on a fall season that has showcased the inconsistent nature of collegiate golf. After strong performances in each of their three prior tournaments, the Wildcats were unable to end the season on a high note at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. The tournament boasted not only a tough field but a demanding course as Purdue won the tournament by 14 strokes despite finishing 40 strokes over par. The Cats were in 16th place after the first day of competition and were unable to move up in the pack, finishing 16th out of 18 teams.
Sophomore Devon Brown, the team’s top player with two top-10 finishes already this year, had trouble getting out of the gate with an opening round 84 but finished strong with a 75-77 over the weekend to move into 39th place. Junior Lauren Weaver led the NU squad with an 80-74-80, good for 31st. After finishing fourth at the Dick McGuire Invitational, senior Alex Lederhausen struggled to live up to her previous success, finishing just one stroke back of Weaver to tie for 34th. Hana Lee closed out her up-and-down freshman campaign with a T-79 to accompany her T-6, T-75, and T-29 finishes. The Cats are now off for several months before kicking off their spring season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in February.
Similar to what befell the women’s golf team over the weekend, the men’s golf team is currently in 10th place out of 11 teams against a tough field that includes several Top 10 teams. After the second day of competition at the Gifford Collegiate in Northern California, the Cats are 46 over par, which puts them 59 strokes off the lead. Per usual, senior Eric Chun paced the Cats with a four birdie first day en route to a 2-under 69. He followed that up with a 2-over 73 on the tournament’s second day and is solidly entrenched in eighth place. The University of Southern California leads the tournament by 12 strokes, while UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay, the top-ranked amateur in the world, is tied for the individual lead at 9-under after firing a 63-70. NU finishes up its 2011 fall season Wednesday with the final round of the Gifford.
