May 15, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) has been named to the 12-member United States Team that will compete in the 2006 Fuji Xerox U.S.A. vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship. The 31st annual competition will be held July 13-15 at Sun Hills Country Club in Japan's Tochigi prefecture.
Dougherty, a 2006 Ben Hogan Award candidate, has already had a couple of experiences that are unique for a collegiate golfer, or any golfer for that matter. In April, the Wildcat took a week off from collegiate golf to become the first Northwestern amateur in history to compete in the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club. Dougherty earned his Masters' berth by finishing as the U.S. Amateur runner-up last August.
Also, thanks to his finish at the Amateur, Dougherty will be playing in the upcoming 2006 U.S. Open Championship. He will compete in the Open, June 15-18, at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
As a member of the 28th-ranked (Golfweek/Sagarin index) Wildcats, Dougherty has finished in the top-10 on two occasions and in the top-20 in another three events. His last top-20 finish was a 13th-place showing in the 2006 Big Ten Championships. Dougherty was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection.
Team USA, selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America, consists of eight men's and four women's collegiate players. Also donning the red, white and blue are: Amanda Blumenherst (Duke), Scott Brown (South Carolina-Aiken), Colin Clark (Guilford), Irene Cho (Southern California), Alex Coe (Pepperdine), Andrew Dresser (Texas Tech), Jake Ellison (BYU), Erik Flores (UCLA), Tiffany Joh (UCLA), Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina) and Jane Park (UCLA).
The Americans lead the all-time U.S.A. vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship series, 23-7, and have won 10-straight competitions.
Big Ten champion Northwestern returns to action, May 18-20, at the NCAA Central Regional Championships.