Head coach Pat Goss, pictured here with Eric Chun at the 2010 British Open, has a talented and experienced team poised for an NCAA Championships return in 2010-11.Head coach Pat Goss, pictured here with Eric Chun at the 2010 British Open, has a talented and experienced team poised for an NCAA Championships return in 2010-11.

After Successful Summer, NU Opens Season at Wolf Run Intercollegiate

Sept. 9, 2010

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off the heels of an incredibly productive and successful summer away from collegiate competition, Northwestern kicks off the 2010-11 NCAA campaign Sept. 11-12 at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate hosted by Indiana at Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind.

The Wildcats are part of a 15-team field at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, joining fellow Big Ten members Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Penn State. The tournament will begin with a 7:30 a.m. CT shotgun start on Saturday, Sept. 11, for 36 holes of continuous play. Northwestern will start on holes 11-through-14 in pairings with Iowa State and North Florida.

Sunday's final round pairings will be based on tournament standings, with teams teeing off between 7:30 a.m. CT and 9:30 a.m. CT. No live scoring is available for the Wolf Run.

Despite this weekend being the opening tournament of the season, Northwestern's golfers have been plenty active over the summer. The 'Cats' marquee performance belonged to junior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School), who competed in The Open Championship at St. Andrews as one of seven amateurs in the field. Chun finished just one stroke shy of the cut in his first-career Major Championship. He carded a 1-under 71 to earn a 59th-place standing in the opening round before the severe winds of St. Andrews got the better of the Wildcat in the second, leaving him at 3-over 147 and one shot away from the weekend.

Back in the United States, sophomore Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) captured the championship at the 86th Arizona Amateur Championship on July 24th, defeating his opponent on the 19th hole of the title match after being down two holes with six to play.

On August 2 at Northmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill., three Wildcats qualified for the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship. Chun joined senior Ravi Patel (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and junior Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) in earning three of the four available slots from the site. Chien earned his spot during a four-way playoff, in the process defeating teammate David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada), who became the second alternate from Northmoor.

At the U.S. Amateur in late August at Chambers Bay near University Park, Wash., Chun finished sixth overall during the 36 holes of stroke play to advance to match play. He bowed out in his first round, however.

Also in August, seven current or former Wildcats qualified to be among the 156-player field at the 108th Western Amateur, known as "The Masters of amateur golf." The tournament was held at nearby Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Ill., site of the 2009 Windon Memorial Classic.

Lipsky, Chun, Patel and Chien joined senior Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic), 2010 graduate Jonathan Bowers and 1997 graduate Scott Rowe in the field. Rowe was the highest finisher out of the purple people in the field, placing 24th overall after the stroke play portion of the tournament.

Northwestern's incoming freshmen were busy, as well. Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) finished as the runner-up at the 2010 Southern California Golf Association Amateur (SCGA Amateur), matching Tiger Woods' previous record of 14-under par in the tournament. Brad Shigezawa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou Academy) took second place at the 2010 Hawaii State Amateur Stroke-Play Championship.

Along with all of the success during the summer of 2010, Northwestern also experienced its first change on the coaching staff in more than five years. Associate head coach Steve Bailey was announced as the new head coach at Marquette on July 27 after helping the Wildcats to four individual and team Big Ten titles and two NCAA Championships appearances during his time in Evanston. Head coach Pat Goss' new assistant will be announced next week.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!