Nov. 7, 2006
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Northwestern's 36th-ranked men's golf team began play Tuesday at the CordeValle Collegiate in a tie for fifth place and maintained that position, finishing the 54-hole event at 15-under 849 to tie with eighth-ranked Lamar.
It was a strong showing by the Wildcats. Ninth-ranked Stanford won the tournament, but the 'Cats finished ahead of four teams ranked in the top 40 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index: third-ranked UCLA, 22nd-ranked TCU, 35th-ranked Washington and 37th-ranked Pepperdine.
At the start of the day each of the 'Cats had two or three holes left to play in the second round due to the suspension of Monday's play because of darkness. A trio of birdies early in the morning enabled the Wildcats to shoot a second round score of 5-under 283.
Junior Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) made one of those birdies, moving him into a tie for first individually at 9-under par through the first 36 holes.
The Wildcats used that momentum to finish the tournament strong, shooting another under-par round, a 4-under 284, to close the tournament.
Doyle made it three rounds under par at the CordeValle, shooting a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish the tournament at 10-under 206 and in a tie for fourth, tying Northwestern's highest individual finish of the fall.
The 54-hole total of 10-under 206 was the lowest 54-hole total of Doyle's Northwestern career and also the Wildcats' lowest 54-hole total of the fall season.
Senior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) also turned in a strong performance, finishing in a tie for 12th at 5-under 211. Wilson made two birdies to close his second round of 4-under 68, and then matched Doyle's 1-under 71 in the final round.
David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) made it three Wildcats under par for the tournament by shooting a final-round, 3-under 69 to finish the CordeValle at 3-under 213 and earn a tie for 19th. With the strong finish, Merkow earned his fourth top-20 finish of the fall.
Jonathan Bowers (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) and Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) rounded out the scoring for the Wildcats, finishing in a tie for 68th and 80th, respectively.
The CordeValle Collegiate marks the end of the fall season for the 'Cats. Northwestern will begin its spring campaign with a flourish when it travels to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Classic in February.
Final results for the CordeValle Collegiate can be found at CordeValle Collegiate.