Feb. 11, 2012
Big Ten Match Play Bracket and Results
BRADENTON, Fla. -- No. 7 seed Northwestern will play for its third-consecutive Big Ten Match Play championship Saturday afternoon after dispatching No. 6 seed Ohio State during Saturday morning semifinal action, 5-1.
The Wildcats will take on No. 8 seed Minnesota, which beat the 2010 season's runner-up Purdue in the semis, for the 2012 Big Ten Match Play title.
Conditions Saturday morning were much tougher than Friday, and when combined with more difficult pin placements, there were a lot more winning pars and bogeys during semifinal play.
Playing at the No. 5 spot in his first full tournament of the year after missing most of the fall with an injury, junior Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) has been absolutely dominant this weekend. He won his Friday matches by 5 and 4 and 2 and 1 counts before a 5 and 3 win Saturday morning.
Following is a blow-by-blow account of all six matches in Northwestern's third-straight semifinal victory:
No. 1: Eric Chun (NU) def. Alex Redfield (OSU), 5 and 3
Senior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) ran his Big Ten Match Play career record to 11-2-1 with this semifinal victory over Alex Redfield. After struggling a bit during Friday's play, Chun began Saturday with a tough downhill 10-footer for par to halve the first and get off to a strong start.
Chun then won the second hold via a bogey and the sixth with a par to go 2-up in the match. On the par-5 seventh, Chun hit his drive out of play before hitting his fifth shot out of pine straw to within 15 feet to make bogey. His opponent struggled to a short game eight to put the NU senior 3-up. Back-to-back birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 followed, giving Chun a commanding 5-up advantage making the turn.
Chun continued to pull away, moving to 6-up on the 11th and going dormie six heading into the 545-yard par-5 13th. Redfield was able to win the next two holes, but Chun ended the proceedings with a birdie 3 at the 15th hole to win, 5 and 3.
No. 2: Jack Perry (NU) def. Grant Weaver (OSU), 3 and 2
The Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) and Grant Weaver match did much to showcase the tough conditions Saturday morning. Perry won the second hole with a bogey, then after dropping to all square at No. 4, he also won the fifth with a double bogey after Weaver struggled to a short game triple.
The match made the turn with Perry still 1-up, then the sophomore made good pars at Nos. 11 and 12 to win both holes and establish a commanding 3-up advantage. Both players then matched scores for the final four holes of the match until Weaver ran out of time and Perry collected a 3 and 2 victory.
No. 3: Sam Chien (NU) def. Boo Timko (OSU), 3 and 2
Ohio State's Boo Timko took an early lead over senior Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel), who has trailed yet come back to win all of his matches at this year's tournament. Chien squared this match with a par at No. 4 to kick start four-consecutive hole victories via a par, bogey and par to go 3-up through seven.
Timko battled back immediately to take the next two holes with birdies, sending this match to the back nine with Chien's lead at 1-up. Chien heated up again with back-to-back wins courtesy of a par at No. 12 and a birdie on No. 13 for a later 3-up advantage. A mist-step with a bogey at No. 14 cost Chien, but he regained the hole with a winning par at No. 15 to go dormie three heading into No. 16, where he closed out the match.
No. 4: Dan Charen (OSU) def. Bennett Lavin (NU), 1-up
On a day when tough conditions and winning via bogeys seemed to be the rule, freshman Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) and Ohio State's Dan Charen played a skilled match with more than a few winning birdies. Charen kicked things off with a birdie on the first before Lavin countered and went 1-up with a birdie at the 210-yard par-3 fourth. Still 1-down to Lavin through 10 holes, Charen won with a par at No. 11 and a birdie at No. 12 to wrestle the lead from the Wildcat.
Charen then won the 190-yard par-3 14th hole with a par to go 2-up before Lavin took advantage of a Charen double bogey at No. 15 to get back to 1-down via a par of his own. Lavin made birdie at the 17th hole to bring his match back to all square, but a bogey on the last gave Charen the 1-up victory.
No. 5: Nick Losole (NU) def. Logan Jones (OSU), 5 and 3
Losole continued his absolute dominance at the Big Ten Match Play Championship with another huge win against the Buckeyes. This match was all square through five holes before Losole got hot, making three-straight birdies on hole Nos. 6, 7 and 8 to leap into a 3-up position.
He added winning pars at Nos. 10 and 13 to go dormie five on the 14th tee. Ohio State's Logan Jones earned a victory at No. 14 with a par, but Losole returned the favor at No. 15 to close out this match 5 and 3.
No. 6: Matthew Negri (NU) def. Matt Turner (OSU), 1-up
Freshman Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) notched his first-career Big Ten Match Play victory in Saturday's semifinals during a tight contest with Ohio State's Matt Turner. Neither competitor had more than a 1-up lead in this entire match until Negri made a winning par at the 422-yard par-4 15th hole. He maintained that edge after another par at No. 16 to go dormie on the par-5 17th.
Turner fought with his back to the wall, making birdie at the 560-yard 17th to send the match the distance. Turner put serious pressure on Negri by hitting his approach on 18 to three feet. Negri accepted the challenge and stiffed his inside of that. Both players made their short birdie putts and Negri got the well-earned 1-up victory.
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