May 22, 2010
2010 NCAA Central Regional Final Results (PDF Format) 
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After a weather delay put a halt to Northwestern's hot play Friday at the NCAA Central Regional at the Warren Golf Course, the Wildcats ended up in a three-way tie for sixth place Saturday following the completion of the second and third rounds, one shot away from forcing a playoff for the final NCAA National Championships qualifying spot.
NU fired a final-round 5-over 285 to end up at 8-over 848 (284-279-285), tied with Big Ten colleagues Michigan and Iowa for sixth. With those three schools in the clubhouse, attention turned to LSU, which sat at 5-over par with three players still on the course. The first to arrive at 18 made bogey on a 3-putt, but the next made par. With the final Tiger needing only a bogey to secure the fifth and final NCAA National Championships slot, that's exactly the score he made, 3-putting his way to a five to give LSU a 7-over 847.
Earning the five bids out of the Central Regional were No. 2 Stanford, No. 10 Florida State, No. 15 Florida, No. 23 Duke and No. 26 LSU. Duke was 10-under as a team Saturday while LSU shot 2-under and Florida 1-under to surge past the Wildcats. In terms of top-50 ranked squads, No. 50 Northwestern tied No. 39 Iowa and No. 47 Michigan while defeating No. 36 N.C. State. The Wildcats moved up to their sixth place finish from the No. 9 seed in the Regional.
On Friday, with Northwestern charging hard, sitting at 2-under and with several opportunities for more birdies late, severe weather arrived to put a stop to the day's festivities. That rain served to cool the Wildcats off, resulting in two short birdie misses and a bogey once second-round play continued Saturday morning.
The horn sounded at 8 a.m. ET for the resumption of play in the second round with three Wildcats still on the course. David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) was on the green at the 18th, and his approximately 8-footer for birdie lipped out on the left side of the cup to leave the junior with a par and a second-round score of 3-under 67. Sophomore Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) hit his approach to 18 short of the green, but hit a great putt from off the front to within inches for a tap-in par and a 2-under 68.
Junior Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) was in the greenside bunker in two on the par-5 17th when the weather delay began Friday. He blasted out and two-putted for a par, just missing a 3-footer for birdie. His approach at 18 went to the rough on the back edge, leaving a tough downhill chip to the hole. He was unable to get up-and-down, settling for bogey and a 2-over 72. Those results coupled with Sam Chien's (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) 2-over 72 and Jonathan Bowers' (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) 5-over 75 left Northwestern at 1-under 279 for the second round and in fourth place at 3-over 563 (284-279) following two rounds.
Lipsky led the Wildcats with a 1-under 69 in the third round to complete his tournament in 11th place at 1-under 209 (73-67-69). On Saturday, he played his entire front nine in even par, which included a great par save on the par-5 fifth when his second shot absolutely buried in eight-inch high rough short and left of the green. He hacked out, chipped on and sank a meandering 12-footer to stay even.
On the back nine, Lipsky attacked the back left pin location on No. 10, tucked in behind a water hazard on the long par-4. His gamble worked perfectly, setting him up for a short birdie to move to 1-under. He got to 2-under with a second short birdie putt at No. 13 before giving a stroke back at 15. He played even par the rest of the way to card his 69.
Dupont ended up at in 22nd place at 1-over 211 (67-72-72) for his tournament after a final-round 2-over 72. He got out slow with a bogey on the first hole, but quickly recovered that stroke on the third. He spun his third shot on the par-5 fifth in close for another birdie to go into red numbers on the front nine. He made a great par save on No. 6 after bombing a sand wedge over the green from about 125 yards out, and stayed at 1-under for the remainder of the front.
His back-side got dicey, beginning with a bogey at No. 10 when his second shot out of thick rough ended up well right of the green. He went on to bogey 12, 14 (when his par putt on a sand save attempt just missed) and 15. Playing in the No. 1 position, he made a crucial birdie on No. 17 that put NU into the three-way tie before having a great look a 20-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have eventually thrust the `Cats into a tie for fifth. The strong effort nearly dropped, and he tapped in for par.
Chun had a very tough day with the irons, but fought his way to a 2-over 72. He missed greens at 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 during one stretch, saving par on 5, 9 and 10 but bogeying 6 and 8. He did notch a birdie on No. 7 during that run. After a three-putt bogey on the 216-yard par-3 11th, he recovered with a bird at No. 12. Back-to-back bogies after that when he was unable to save up-and-down opportunities preceded another big putt, this one a 30-footer over a ridge on No. 15 for birdie. He made par the rest of the way to complete a 1-over 211 (71-68-72) on the weekend, placing him alongside Dupont in 22nd place.
Bowers was red-hot out of the gate, stuffing his approach at No. 2 for a birdie before masterfully laying up and sticking his third shot on the par-5 5th to move to 2-under par. He recovered from a bogey at No. 8 by nearly holing his tee shot on the par-3 9th, settling instead for a birdie to complete the front nine in 2-under 33.
Bowers' day was the tale of two sides, however, and the back began ominously. He was all over the long par-4 10th, needing to one-putt an 8-footer for double bogey. He made bogey at 12 to go to 1-over, then got to 2-over with probably one of the better bogies of his career. On No. 15, he drove the ball into a stand of trees with very long grass, resulting in an unplayable lie. After a drop, he pounded the ball out of the trees and just over the green before getting up-and-down to limit the damage to a stroke. He made par the rest of the day to finish at 2-over 72 in the final round and 10-over 220 (73-75-72) on the tourney, leaving him in 52nd.
Chien started off with a bogey at No. 3, but got it back with a tap-in birdie on No. 5. A bogey at No. 7 and a double on No. 10 shot him up to 3-over on the day. He was able to get one back with a birdie at No. 16, but missed a short par putt at No. 18 that left him at 3-over 73 and 10-over 220 (75-72-73) for the tournament, also in 52nd place.
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