Feb. 28, 2006
Final Puerto Rico Classic Team Results
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Final Puerto Rico Classic Individual ResultsDownload Free Acrobat Reader
RIO GRANDE, P.R. -- At this week's powerful Puerto Rico Classic, Northwestern junior David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) proved that he is ready to go toe-to-toe with the country's best players after finishing seventh among a 90-player field.
Merkow, who won last fall's Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, has now turned in five straight tournaments with a finish of 23 or better. He has notched 13 (out of 18) rounds of par or better this year.
As a team, the 13th-ranked Wildcats finished in a 13th-place tie (291-298-296=885) with Kent State. Northwestern did finish in front of second-ranked Georgia Tech and 12th-ranked Minnesota.
In addition to Merkow's seventh-place score, a 3-under 213 (71-70-72), the Wildcats also received strong performances from their two central Ohio products -- junior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) and Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto). Wilson finished 27th with a 2-over 218 (74-71-73) while Moore was 35th with a 3-over 219 (72-76-71).
Northwestern needed one more top-35 performance and it would have finished in the tourney's top four. Unfortunately, senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) and Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) had sub-par tournaments and both finished 84th with 24-over 240's.
Led by Chris Kirk's 5-under 67, top-ranked Georgia, the defending NCAA champion, upheld its No. 1 national ranking by winning the Puerto Rico title by four strokes over fourth-ranked Florida. No. 3 Oklahoma State, which began Tuesday's final round in first place, dropped back to third after shooting an 11-over 299 for the final round.
Kirk finished atop the individual leaderboard, overtaking Oklahoma State's Pablo Martin by a stroke.
The Wildcats return to action next Monday and Tuesday, March 6-7 at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Fla.