Men’s Golf

GLENVIEW, Illinois — A purple-and-white Northwestern flag flew over North Shore Country Club on Sunday as the Wildcats hosted the 20th-annual Windon Memorial Classic.

After playing two rounds on the first day of action and one round on the second, the Wildcats finished fourth out of 14 teams with score of 9-over.

Junior Dylan Wu led the way for the Cats and tied for second in the tournament, shooting a 4-under. Wu was followed by sophomore Ryan Lumsden and senior Andrew Whalen, who shot 3 and 4-over, finishing tied for 14th and tied for 18th, respectively.

Playing at home was a special experience for NU, as they appreciated the strong fan support at the club located about 7 miles from campus.
“It was great to have a lot of people out there supporting us and that made [the tournament] more fun and enjoyable,” Lumsden said.

In addition to a friendly crowd, the Cats had the advantage of considerable playing experience at the course. Every golf course is different and comes with its unique set of challenges and opportunities. Wu said NU appreciated the familiarity the team has with the course.

“We had played those same pin locations while practicing,” Wu said. “Since you’ve played it before that makes you a lot more comfortable.”

After finishing in 11th place as a team at the Fighting Illini Invitational last week, both coach David Inglis and Lumsden said the team took a step forward this week, while acknowledging they have a ways to go. Inglis focused on the team’s rough second round in particular, after NU tied with Florida for the lead at 6-under in the first round. On that Sunday afternoon round, the Cats shot 8-over as a team and fell to 4th place.

“In the afternoon we lost a little bit of our energy and a little bit of our enthusiasm,” Inglis said. “We made a couple of mistakes and we didn’t quite weather the adversity well enough for where we need to be.”

During the third round on Monday, NU shot a team score that was similar to their previous round, but the course conditions had worsened. After balmy weather to open the tournament, temperatures dropped into the 60s on Monday. In addition, maximum wind speeds of 24 mph posed significant problems during the final round. Despite the tough environment, the Cats’ third round score was the third best of any team that day.

“It was a small step in the right direction, but we have to understand that we have bigger goals than to finish fourth at our home event,” Inglis said.

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