April 26, 2006
Northwestern Big Ten Notes/Statistics
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern is bringing the Big Ten Men's Golf Championships back to Chicagoland for the first time in 50 years this Friday through Sunday, April 28-30.
Northwestern is hosting the 87th annual event at the Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. The 11 Big Ten squads will play 36 holes of golf on Friday, and then 18 each on Saturday and Sunday.
Michigan State is the defending champion. A new individual champion will be crowned in 2006. Jeff Overton of Indiana won the 2005 Big Ten Championships and has since moved on to the PGA Tour.
"It's been 50 years since we last hosted this event, so to say we're overdue is an understatement," said NU coach Pat Goss. "We've put a lot of effort into making this a first-class event for the student-athletes in the Big Ten."
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. Five years ago, Luke Donald won the second of his two Big Ten crowns.
The Wildcats enter the Championships as the top seed by virtue of being the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the Golfstat national rankings. Three other schools join 27th-ranked Northwestern in the Golfstat top-50. Seeds two through four are: No. 30 Minnesota, No. 37 Purdue and No. 48 Indiana.
The 'Cats also feature the top-ranked golfer in the Big Ten according to the Golfweek/Sagarin index. Junior David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union), Northwestern's leader in stroke average, is the 64th-ranked golfer in the country.
Junior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) is coming off a career-best second-place finish at last week's Fossum/Spartan Invitational. He carded a 2-under 214 (70-68-76) and shared the second-place spot with Bronson La'Cassie of Minnesota, the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. La'Cassie, ranked No. 94 in Golfweek's individual rankings, is the fourth-highest rated player in the Big Ten.
Wilson's second-round 68, which equaled his career best, gave him a share of the lead after 36 holes at the Fossum Invitational.
Senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) owns a scoring average of 74.07. He is 14th in the Big Ten entering the Championships. Sophomore Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) is also in the top-20 with an average of 74.48.
Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) heads into the Championships having finished last week on a strong note. He recorded an even-par 72, which was the 'Cats' lowest final round.
Each member of NU's lineup has finished in the top-six of a tournament this year. Additionally, all five have low rounds in the 60s.
"All our guys have played some terrific golf this year," says Goss. "Now we need to put it all together. We know this course, so our players should be comfortable here. Our guys really want to put on a good show for the home crowd."
Conway Farms was designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio. When it was opened in 1991, it was acclaimed by Golf Digest as one of the Top Five best new private clubs in the country. The Championships will be played from the black or "Conway" tees which measure 7,168 yards. The par-71 layout was lengthened by approximately 435 yards in 2005.
Conway Farms, with Northwestern as host, has been the site of three collegiate tournaments. It held the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Championships and the 1999 and 2004 Windon Memorial Classics.
First-round tee times begin at 8 a.m. on Friday with second-round play to follow in the afternoon starting at 1 p.m.
Northwestern will commence play on Friday at 9:20 a.m. from the No. 1 tee. The five 'Cats will tee off in eight-minute intervals with the final player going off at 9:52 a.m. Northwestern's second round is scheduled to begin from the No. 1 Tee at 2:20 p.m.
Third- and fourth-round tee times and pairings, on Saturday and Sunday respectively, will be determined by team scores. The low four individuals will determine the team score for each round.
To follow the tournament live, visit Big Ten Men's Golf Championships. Other tournament information can be found at Big Ten Men's Golf Championships and Northwestern Men's Golf Championships site.
Admission and parking for the three-day, 72-hole event are free.