Sept. 17, 2011
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- Northwestern and the entire field at the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational presented by Polo had a rough go of things during play in Saturday's second round.
On a beautiful but brisk and windy day, Olympia Fields Country Club fully bared its teeth to one of the best early-season fields collegiate golf has to offer. Only two teams in the 15-team tournament were able to keep their composite scores below double-digit over-par totals Saturday.
Northwestern teed off No. 10 in a group with Notre Dame and two-time defending NCAA Champion Augusta State. The Wildcats carded a second-round total of 33-over 313 to find themselves in 15th-place with a 52-over 612 (299-313) entering Sunday's final round.
Sophomore Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) put together a solid round given the conditions Saturday. Though he made three bogeys in his opening five holes, he recovered with a birdie at the par-5 15th hole before carding four pars in a row. He finished the day with six bogeys and one birdie, but in huge fashion was able to steer clear of worse-than-bogey scores in the entire second round. Perry's 5-over 75 gave him a two-day total of 11-over 151 (76-75), good for 54th place in the field.
Senior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) largely had a good day on the course, but a five-hole stretch from Nos. 18 around to No. 4 sent his score much higher. Chun book-ended back-to-back-to-back double bogeys with single bogeys for an 8-over par stretch, but countered that by playing 1-under par golf with two birdies and a single bogey on the remaining 13 holes for a second-round 7-over 77. He is in 60th place overall at 13-over 153 (76-77).
Senior Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) had three bogeys and three double bogeys in his round to account for a 9-over 79. He is in 67th place at 15-over 155 (76-79) entering Sunday's final round.
Freshman Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) was unable to recreate his strong 1-over par round from Friday, carding a 12-over 82 Saturday to give him a 36-hole total of 13-over 153 (71-82), tying him with Chun for 60th position.
Freshman Bennett Lavin's (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) day got off to a tough start with a 4-putt triple bogey on his second hole. He made his first birdie of the tournament on the 26th hole he played, but six bogeys in his final seven holes contributed to a 13-over 83 on the day, placing him 74th overall at 22-over 162 (79-83).
Northwestern concludes its Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational presented by Polo with the final round tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 18. Get live results courtesy of Golfstat.com and follow along with action from the course by way of Goss' live tweeting @NUGolf_Live.
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