One of Northwestern’s best athletics programs doesn’t play on campus. It’s almost impossible to watch them play, and the players’ names are not famous campuswide.
Yet the men’s golf team has a track record of success at both the collegiate and professional levels.
NU is one of the best teams in the Big Ten on a yearly basis, and it’s not because the the Wildcats reload with new talent each year. The secret behind their success is coach Pat Goss, who was named one of the 100 best teachers in the United States by Golf Magazine in 2007. The marked improvement of every player from his freshman campaign to senior year speaks to the strength behind the success of the Cats.
A great example of this phenomenon is senior Sam Chien. After completing his sophomore year with a 74.3 scoring average, Chien has cut a stroke off his average in his senior campaign and has played some of the best golf of his career in the last four events.
The coaching success has led to on-course success throughout Goss’s 15-year tenure at NU. The Cats are three-time reigning Big Ten Match Play champions and have had two of the last three Big Ten indvidual champions, including senior Eric Chun, who won the 2009 title as a freshman. The Cats have won 31 tournament titles under Goss, including 10 seasons with multiple titles. This season has been no different, with two event wins this season and three top-five finishes in its last four events.
As individuals, the Cats might be even better, with two individuals in the top 10 of four straight events. Chun has six top-five finishes, including two wins, and is ranked 51st among collegiate golfers in the country.
Back to the storied history of this program – and there is no better place to start than with the current No. 2 player in the world. Luke Donald (WCAS’01) remains the only NCAA indvidual champion in school history and was a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time Big Ten individual champion.
Although Donald is the most well-known alum on the professional tours, there are others worth noting. David Lipsky (WCAS’11) earned his Asian Tour card with a win in the Asian Qualifying School tournament in January. He proceeded to win the HANDA FALDO Cambodian Classic on March 17, which earned him a spot in the European Tour’s Maybank Malaysian Open. He ran in his first major tournament, finishing in a tie for third ahead of major winners like Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel.
The men’s golf program may not be the most well-known, but the talent that has gone through Evanston has proven itself against collegians and the pros. That so many players have come to NU and then had success at the next level shows just how successful this program is and just how much better these current golfers can become.
Sports editor Josh Walfish is a Medill sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]
