May 18, 2006
NCAA Central Regional Championships (First Round Results)
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CHARDON, Ohio -- Despite a nearly three-week break since its last tournament action, Northwestern has maintained its momentum after winning the Big Ten championship on April 30.
The ninth-seeded Wildcats opened first-round action at the NCAA Central Regional Championships with a 3-under 281 at the Sand Ridge Golf Club. That score puts Northwestern in second place, just one stroke behind Oklahoma State, the region's top-seeded team and the nation's second-ranked squad. The top 10 finishing teams will advance to the NCAA National Championships later this month in Sunriver, Ore.
Individually, there is even better news for the Wildcats. Junior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), the 2006 Big Ten champion and a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, holds the first round lead after firing a 4-under 67. He is first among a field of 141 golfers.
Wilson, who shot par or better on all 18 holes, birdied three of his last five holes (14, 15 and 18) to move into the individual lead. The 2005 Ohio Amateur champion has a one-stroke lead on his classmate, David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union), as well as a pair of Texas A&M players, Bronson Burgoon and Andrew Parr, and Purdue's Bobby Bennett.
Like Wilson, Merkow shot par or better on all 18 holes and recorded all three of his birdies on the back nine -- holes 10, 15 and 18. All five NU players birdied the par-5 No. 18. Merkow, the 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year, now has 19 rounds (out of 35) of par or better this season.
The Wildcats' other three golfers -- senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland), and sophomores Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) and Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) -- are all sitting at 2-over (73) and in 34th place.
Northwestern's 3-under 281 represents its second-best team round of the spring, only behind its 4-under 284 at the par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Positioned right behind the 'Cats in the team standings are No. 3 seed Texas A&M (E, 284), No. 5 seed Duke (+2, 286) and No. 11 seed Lamar (+2, 286). Georgia Tech, the No. 2 seed and the country's fourth-ranked team, is in 13th place with an 11-over 295. Minnesota and Purdue, the two other Big Ten teams in the field, are tied for sixth place with 7-over 291's.
The Central Regional continues through Saturday with the second round beginning at 6 a.m. CT on Friday. Northwestern's players will tee off early in the day, starting at 6:47 a.m. CT.
Live scoring for the event is available at NCAA Central Regional Men's Golf Championships.