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Erin Hills Intercollegiate Erin Hills Golf Course Erin, Wis. NU's Place: 4th/11 teams Golfstat.com Live Scores 36-Hole Results  |
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ERIN, Wis. -- With a monster back-nine recovery following a slow start in Monday's second round of the Erin Hills Intercollegiate, and with three players in the top-nine individually, Northwestern remained in fourth place among the 11-team field entering Tuesday's final round.
Northwestern stands at 20-over 596 (302-294) at the 36-hole mark of the event, two strokes behind third-place host Marquette and eight shots behind second-place SMU. UCLA leads the event by three over the Mustangs at 9-over par 585. NU leads fifth-place South Florida by five shots.
After struggling early and making a late jump up the leaderboard in Sunday's opening round, Northwestern again started cold and finished hot on Monday.
"Golf is tough when in your first 45 holes of the day as a team you only make one birdie," tweeted Director of Golf and Player Development Pat Goss. "Some good chances (on the) back."
Good chances, indeed. The Wildcats combined for eight birdies on the back nine, playing the side in 4-under par as a counting crew to bounce back from a 10-over par front side. Northwestern's 6-over 294 represented an eight-shot improvement over Sunday's opening score.
"We did a good job on the back nine, and that was in the tougher conditions," tweeted Goss.
Senior Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) epitomized the Northwestern day within his round, finishing with one of the best nine hole efforts of his career. Lavin turned in 3-over 39 (just as he did in Sunday's opening round), and then -- again, just like he did Sunday -- found red numbers on the back. This time, though, Lavin went real deep, carding four birdies against just one bogey to come home in 3-under 33 and sign for an even-par 72. Lavin moved up to sixth-place at 2-over 146 (74-72).
Josh Jamieson (St. Andrews, Scotland/High School of Dundee) remained in the top five individually after a 1-over 73 Monday. He had 13 pars in his first 14 holes, with the lone outlier an unfortunate double bogey at the par-5 No. 7. He fought back to even with a birdie-birdie combo on Nos. 15 and 16, punctuating his birdie at No. 16 with a "European Ryder Cup-esque first pump," Goss tweeted.
Though he would finish with a bogey at No. 18, Jamieson still remains fourth in the field with a 36-hole total of 1-over 145 (72-73).
Freshman Dylan Wu (Medfored, Ore./St. Mary's School) had a solid day on the course with just one major blemish when he wiped out an early birdie with a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 fourth. After turning in 1-over par, Wu played even-par golf on the back side that included a finishing birdie at the 675-yard par-5 18th. Wu's 1-over 73 gives him a 4-over 148 (75-73) that puts him ninth entering Tuesday's final round.
Freshman Charles Wang (Beijing, China/Sarasota Christian School) had the biggest improvement for Northwestern from day one to day two. After carding a 14-over 86 Sunday, he was 10 strokes better Monday in signing for a 4-over 76. Wang looked headed for more of the same with four bogeys among his first seven holes in the second round, but he registered 11-straight pars after a bogey at No. 7 to finish with a 4-over 76. Wang is in 60th place at 18-over 162 (86-76).
Freshman Sam Triplett (Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy Prep) matched his opening 9-over 81 Sunday with another on Monday. He is tied with Wang in 60th place at 18-over 162 (81-81).
The third-and-final round begins at 8:30 a.m. CT tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Northwestern - 4th/11 302-294=596 (+20)
T4 - Josh Jamieson -- 72-73=145 (+1)
T6 - Bennett Lavin -- 74-72=146 (+2)
T9 - Dylan Wu -- 75-73=148 (+4)
T60 - Charles Wang -- 86-76=162 (+18)
T60 - Sam Triplett -- 81-81=162 (+18)
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