When Northwestern travelled to Greensboro, North Carolina for the UNCG/Grandover Collegiate last fall, the Wildcats were coming off a tournament victory at the Windon Memorial Classic. They went on to win the tournament.

Twelve months later, NU once again heads east to Grandover Resort for its fall season finale. While the team is not coming off a victory — they finished in second at the Chatham Hills Collegiate — they did win the Marquette Intercollegiate earlier this month.

“Last fall looked a little bit similar to this fall,” coach David Inglis said. “In some ways it’s almost the same story.”

Senior Ryan Lumsden has been leading the Cats to start the season. He has been named Big Ten Golfer of the Week twice and finished as the individual champion at the Marquette Intercollegiate.

The Scottish international finished tied for third last season at the UNCG/Grandover Collegiate. Despite shooting 3-over par in the first round, Lumsden rebounded with two final under-par rounds to finish at 1-under. In 2016, he finished at even-par.

“I like the course — it’s fun,” Lumsden said. “It challenges you to hit a bunch of good shots. You got to be pretty accurate off the tee, which is a little different than some of the courses we have played lately. You have to have good control of your ball, essentially.”

One of the other aspects of the course that the golfers will have to adjust to is the grass. The courses at Grandover Resort are bermuda grass courses. The Cats have not played on bermuda grass all season. NU has been playing on bentgrass, which is common in the Midwest, for most of the season.

Junior Everton Hawkins said the grass has a different texture and that pitching and chipping can be different. He also added that he prefers bentgrass because it is what he is used to playing.

“The grass is completely different from what we have played this whole year,” Hawkins said. “This grass is totally different through impact.”

Bermuda grass is commonly found in warm climates because it deals well with high temperatures and droughts. On greens, bermuda grass is known for having grains which cause greater effects on the ball than other grasses.

Inglis said the introduction of the all-bermuda grass courses occured before last season’s tournament, when the course was redone. He said the course can be challenging but can provide opportunities for birdies.

Hawkins performed very well in North Carolina in 2016 when he finished a 5-under, which tied him for 16th in the individual rankings. He struggled more in his second time at the tournament, finishing 28th.

NU has been playing at the UNCG/Grandover for the past three seasons and has performed well all three times it has played the invitational. In addition to the Cats’ win in 2017, NU finished third in 2015 and 2016.

“It’s a good tournament for us; obviously, the time is right at the end of the fall season,” Inglis said. “For us, with the academic schedule, it’s only one missed class day, so that is helpful. Just fits in at the right time of the season.”

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