April 28, 2006
Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Results (Rounds One and Two)
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Day One QuotesDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Saturday (Round Three) Tee TimesDownload Free Acrobat Reader
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Top-seeded and 31st-ranked Northwestern grabbed the lead after two rounds at the 2006 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. Northwestern is seeking its first Big Ten title since 2001, when the Wildcats won their last of three straight championships.
Trailing by five strokes entering the afternoon, Northwestern fired the second round's lowest score to jump ahead of Michigan State by a stroke.
On a day when collegiate records seemed to made to be shattered, the 'Cats got one for themselves in the afternoon -- one they already owned. Northwestern's two-round total of even-par 568 (282-286) breaks its own 36-hole Conway Farms collegiate record by three strokes. Northwestern originally set the record in 1997 at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships.
Michigan State had set the single round record with a 7-under 277 in the first round.
It should be noted that although Conway Farms has been lengthened since the prior collegiate tournaments were held on the Tom Fazio-designed course, one of its most punishing defenses lays dormant. Tall heather, which normally lines the course's rough, has yet to grow to a height that prevents players from hitting out of it due to it being early in the season.
Michigan State's Ryan Brehm, the 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and last year's Big Ten runner-up, took dead aim at two of PGA Tour member Jason Gore's Conway Farms' records. After breaking Gore's 18-hole record in the morning with a Michigan State record 64 (breaking his own record of 65 set a year ago at the Big Ten Championships), Brehm shot a 1-over 72 for a Conway Farms 36-hole record total of 6-under 136. Gore, a former Pepperdine star, owned the previous record of 137, which was set at the 1997 NCAA Championships.
Brehm leads the field by a stroke heading into Saturday's third round.
Junior Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) began the second round in second place, and that is where he finished when Friday's 36 holes came to a close. The Ohio native carded a 1-over 72 and sits at 5-under 137 (65-72), in a tie with Purdue's Pariya Junhasavasdikul. Moore's 36-hole total is a career best.
Moore, who finished in a tie for third at last year's Championships, leads the field with 11 birdies, two more than Purdue's Tom Oliver. He also has the lowest par-four scoring average with a 3.77 mark.
Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) moved into the top five with his second 70 of the day. He stands at 2-under 140. Wilson is in a tie with Michigan State's Matt Harmon for fifth place. Harmon finished third in last year's edition.
Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) climbed 20 spots in the standings from 33rd into sole possession of 13th after round two. The only senior in Northwestern's Big Ten Championship line up fired a 1-under 70 in the second round to post a two-round total of 3-over 145 (75-70).
David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) is in a tie for 27th at 149 with Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) and two other golfers. Merkow shot rounds of 72 and 77; Doyle carded a 75 and a 74.
When Conway Farms 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 are being played from the black or "Conway" tees which measure 7,168 yards. The par-71 layout was lengthened 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.
Tee times for the third round have been determined by team score. Play commences at 9 a.m. off tee Nos. 1 and 10.
Northwestern's first golfer takes the tee at 9:50 a.m. All five 'Cats will begin on the No. 1 tee and tee off in 10-minute intervals. The Northwestern tee times are: Doyle (9:50), Merkow (10:00), Dougherty (10:10), Wilson (10:20) and Moore (10:30).
The fourth and final round is scheduled for Sunday.
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.