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Kepler Intercollegiate Scarlet Course Columbus, Ohio NU's Place: 9th/14 teams Birdiefire.com Live Scores Day One Results  |
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Northwestern stands in ninth place among the 14-team field after the opening day of competition at the Kepler Intercollegiate hosted by Ohio State at the Buckeyes' Scarlet Course.
NU opened the 36-hole day Saturday with a 13-over 297 in the morning before improving six shots for a 7-over 291 in the afternoon. The Wildcats' 20-over 588 places them three strokes behind eighth-place Michigan, four behind seventh-place Penn State and seven shots in back of sixth-place No. 31 Houston. Only one team was able to break par Saturday, with 18th-ranked Georgia Tech firing a 6-over 562 to lead the team race by eight strokes.
The third and final round of the Kepler is tomorrow, Sunday, April 12.
Northwestern teed of at No. 10 in both rounds Saturday, finding some higher numbers on the more difficult back nine before going lower on the front side. The Wildcats got at least one under-par round in both the morning and the afternoon courtesy of freshman Dylan Wu (Medford, Ore./St. Mary's School) in the first round and senior Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) in the second.
Negri fired an opening-round 5-over 76 in the morning, suffering a rough start with three bogeys and one double bogey in his first nine holes to turn at 4-over par. Making his way back around to the front, Negri got a shot back at the par-4 third but had two bogeys in his final three holes to finish up -- still with a much better second nine to give him momentum into the afternoon.
Negri seized that momentum to break par with a 1-under 70 in the second round. After an even-par back nine, he made birdie at both Nos. 4 and 7. Though he gave a stroke back at his last, he still had a nice afternoon to move up to 24th at 4-over 146 (76-70).
Wu, who closed the fall season with medalist honors against a strong field at The Gifford Collegiate, regained some of that form on Saturday morning. He opened in red figures with a three-birdie, two-bogey 1-under 70, but unfortunately was unable to hold that mark in the afternoon with a five-bogey 5-over 76. Wu is tied with Negri for 24th after a mirror-image 4-over 146 (70-76).
Junior Josh Jamieson (St. Andrews, Scotland/High School of Dundee) had a slow start in the first round, making four bogeys in his first six holes. He birdied No. 1 after making the turn at 4-over 39, but made three more bogeys the rest of the way for a 6-over 77.
In the afternoon, Jamieson flipped the switch with five birdies during an even-par 71. He started bogey-bogey and had racked up three bogeys in his first five holes, but Jamieson fought back the entire way, getting to even par for the round with a birdie at No. 8. Jamieson bounced back up the individual standings to sit in 36th position at 6-over 148 (77-71) entering Sunday's final round.
Freshman Charles Wang (Beijing, China/Sarasota Christian School) did not make a birdie during his opening round, carding 14 pars and four bogeys -- just one on his second nine -- to shoot a 4-over 75. In the afternoon, Wang made two birdies and two bogeys during his first nine to turn at even par, but four bogeys coming home gave him another 4-over 75. Wang is 45th in the field at 8-over 150 (75-75).
Senior Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) shot a 4-over 39 on his opening (back) nine before coming around for a two-bogey, one-birdie 1-over 37 on the front for a morning 5-over 76. Lavin's second round was almost a carbon copy of his first. He again had a 4-over 39 going out, though this time he was able to make a late birdie at the par-3 eighth hole for an even-par second nine and a second-round 4-over 75. Lavin is in 52nd place at 9-over 149 (75-74).
Playing as an individual, freshman Sam Triplett (Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy Prep) is in 62nd place at 12-over 154 (79-75). He came back from an opening-round 8-over 79 to made 14 pars and four bogeys in a second-round 4-over 75.
Northwestern - 9th/15 297-291=588 (+20)
T24 -- Matthew Negri -- 76-70=146 (+4)
T24 -- Dylan Wu -- 70-76=146 (+4)
T36 -- Josh Jamieson -- 77-71=148 (+6)
T45 -- Charles Wang -- 75-75=150 (+8)
T52 -- Bennett Lavin -- 76-75=151 (+9)
*T62 -- Sam Triplett -- 79-75=154 (+11)
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