After a month off and time to build on their early wins at the Big Ten Match Play Championship and the Rice Intercollegiate, the men’s golf team was back in action on March 22-23 at the Barona Collegiate Cup in Lakeside, Calif.
Against a field of 16 teams that included four of the top 25 and eight of the top 50 in the nation, NU couldn’t pull off a third consecutive first place finish but continued their strong play.
The team finished in seventh place against the impressive field, performing admirably especially in what head coach Pat Goss called “the tougher 6 count 5 format.”
NU continued to get excellent play from Eric Chun. The senior carded rounds of 68, 69 and 68 for an 11-under-par total and a tied for second place finish. It was Chun’s fourth top two finish and fifth top 10 finish of the season. He leads the team with a stellar 70.57 scoring average in seven events this season.
The team also got a surprise performance from Jack Perry. The sophomore carded a final-round 6-under par 66 Friday and finished ninth at the Barona Collegiate Cup. Both marks were easily career highs and Perry, according to Goss, had no three-putts in a tournament and a bogey free round (his final-round 66) for the first time.
The break between tournaments will be a little shorter this time for NU, as it resumes play on April 6 for the Adidas Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.
With the Big Ten and NCAA Championships looming, the team hopes to continue to play solid golf as the spring progresses.
