May 20, 2010
Round One Results (PDF Format) 
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Northwestern is tied for fifth place out of 14 teams following the opening round Thursday of the 54-hole NCAA Central Regional at Warren Golf Course. Junior Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) helped the Wildcats' cause by playing his final six holes in 4-under par to put himself in second place individually with a 3-under 67.
The Wildcats are tied with Virginia Tech for fifth at 4-over 284, one shot behind third-place and 15th-ranked Florida, and one shot in front of No. 46 Michigan and Indiana, which are tied for seventh. No. 11 Florida is in second place at 1-under par while No. 2 Stanford leads the field at 3-under par. The top five teams in the Regional advance to the NCAA National Championships.
NU also finished its day ahead of top-50 squads Iowa (No. 38), N.C. State (No. 36) and Duke (No. 23). Northwestern roared out of the gate, playing to a 6-under total and the outright lead while taking full advantage of early birdie holes before entering a tougher stretch on the course.
Dupont began his day with birdies on Nos. 1 and 3, but a trio of bogeys left him a 1-over par through 12 holes. That is when he began to heat up with a birdie at No. 13 before making birdie on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 to finish at 3-under 67. He completed his hot streak with a lengthy putt at No. 18, rolling his ball up from the front of the green and draining it much to the delight of the gallery.
Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) also came out with his putter blazing, making birdie on the opening two holes before getting up and down from a vicious front-side pot bunker on the par-5 fifth for a third birdie to move to 3-under par early on. A double-bogey six on the seventh hole proved to be only a hiccup in his front side after he recovered with a fourth bird on the 441-yard par-4 8th. He began to get into trouble on the back nine, however, three-putting at 17 and finding the hazard on 18 to contribute to four back-side bogeys and an opening-round 1-over 71, good for 21st place individually.
Junior David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) found red numbers early when he stuck his approach on the 462-yard par 4 second hole to within five feet. An up-and-down day commenced from there, with Lipsky eventually finishing at 3-over 73 following a great up and down on No. 18. His approach on the 455-yard par 4 left him pin-high in the rough on the right side of the green and short-sided for his pitch. He deftly lofted his ball onto the fringe, letting it trickle down past the hole before converting his par to end his day in 36th position.
Senior Jonathan Bowers (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) also is in 36th place after opening his tournament with a 3-over 73. He was quite consistent on his round, making 13 total pars. He carded back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 along with another at No. 15 before turning in his first birdie of the day on the short 345-yard par-4 16th. He immediately found trouble on the par-5 17th, however, to give that stroke right back and end up at 3-over on the day.
Sophomore Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) contributed to Northwestern's hot team start with a birdie on No. 3 before seven bogeys in a 10-hole stretch ending at No. 15 shot him up to 6-over par. On No. 16, he found the hazard before recovering for a great par save. That result propelled him to a birdie at No. 17 before he carded a conventional par at No. 18 to give him a score of 5-over 75 on the day and momentum heading into Friday's round. He is 52nd overall.
Northwestern and the other 13 teams at the NCAA Central Regional return to the Warren Golf Course tomorrow morning, Friday, May 21, for the second round of the three-day tournament.
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