March 21, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following a 50-year hiatus, the Big Ten Men's Golf Championships are returning to Chicagoland this spring.
Northwestern is hosting the 87th annual event at the Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday through Sunday, April 28-30. The 11 Big Ten schools will play 36 holes of golf on Friday, and then 18 each on Saturday and Sunday.
"We're thrilled to be hosting the Big Ten Championships," says Northwestern coach Pat Goss. "The quality of golf in the Big Ten is outstanding and I think golf fans around Chicago are going to be impressed with the teams and players. This is an opportunity to come out and see the future stars of the PGA."
Northwestern (No. 18) and Minnesota (No. 25) are presently ranked in the coaches' top-25 poll, while Purdue and Michigan State are receiving votes.
In the last 10 years, five different schools have claimed the Big Ten title, including Northwestern, which won the Championships three straight years (1999-2001) behind All-American Luke Donald. Ohio State (1997, 2004), Indiana (1998), Minnesota (2002-03) and Michigan State (2005) all have claimed recent titles.
Interestingly, the 2006 event marks the 40-year, 20-year and 10-year anniversaries of three Northwestern individual titles. In 1966, John Seehausen captured the title, while in 1986 and 1996, Jim Benepe and Jonathan Loosemore claimed respective crowns.
"We plan to host a Big Ten event that will be second to none," says Goss. "With the help of the Western Golf Association, a number of volunteers and the outstanding staff at Conway Farms, I anticipate this year's Championships will be remembered for years to come."
Golf officials or fans who are interested in volunteering are encouraged to complete an application form, which can be found here.
Admission to the three-day event is free.