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The Boilermaker Kampen Course West Lafayette, Ind. NU's Place: 3rd/15 teams Birdiefire.com Live Scores Final Results  |
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- In a good end to the regular season, Northwestern moved up two spots Sunday to finish third among the 15-team field at The Boilermaker, matching the Wildcats' best tournament finish of the season entering next weekend's 2015 Big Ten Championships.
Northwestern entered the final round at Purdue's Kampen Course in fifth, just two strokes shy of third place. NU immediately vaulted both GRU Augusta and Ohio State with eight combined birdies in its first five holes, including three birdies on the par-4 seventh alone. NU began the shotgun start at holes 4-7.
Though the Wildcats began to shed strokes after rotating around to the back nine, the hot start was enough to hold off the Buckeyes. One of the biggest performances from a team standpoint came from freshman Sam Triplett (Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy Prep), who was the lone Wildcat not to make a birdie in that hot opening stretch. He did, however, shake off three bogeys in his first five holes to end up with a counting 2-over 74.
When senior Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) -- who entered Sunday fifth individually -- suffered a triple bogey on his 17th hole, Triplett's score coupled with a late Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) birdie helped NU remain two strokes ahead of Ohio State for third place at 5-over 869 (292-284-293).
Northwestern was seven shots better on Sunday than second-place Louisville, closing a monster gap between the Cardinals and the rest of the field down to eight strokes. Louisville (-3) and fourth-ranked tournament winner Illinois (-35) were the lone schools under par for the event.
Northwestern will carry its momentum from a strong Boilermaker into the Big Ten Championships April 24-26 in Evansville, Ind.
Lavin began his final round just as he did his first round on Saturday -- HOT. Lavin made three birdies in his first five holes to launch himself to 3-under par. Whereas he faded to 2-over par on Saturday, Lavin fought off three back nine bogeys and another bogey at No. 2 with his late birdie for a finishing even-par 72. Lavin placed 36th among the field at 7-over 223 (74-77-72).
Junior Josh Jamieson (St. Andrews, Scotland/High School of Dundee) matched Lavin's even-par 72 Sunday to also lead the Wildcats' team effort in the final round. Jamieson had two birdies in his first four holes, suffered bogeys on the back nine at Nos. 12 and 14, then closed with nine-straight pars. Jamieson notched his fourth top-20 finish on the year with a 12th-place 1-over 217 (74-71-72).
The aforementioned Triplett was 3-over par through five holes while his four teammates were either below or near par in that stretch. When the back nine started biting into the Wildcats for bogeys, Triplett made only pars, eventually running a streak of 11 straight before he birdied the par-3 fifth hole. Triplett's 74 represented a five stroke improvement over his first and second round totals, and moved him up to 68th place overall at 16-over 232 (79-79-74).
Dylan Wu (Medford, Ore./St. Mary's School) sandwiched two bogeys in his first five holes around a birdie at the par-4 seventh. Bogeys at Nos. 13 and 18 on the back nine put him at 3-over for the round, which is where he was able to stay to help keep NU in third place late on Sunday. Wu's 3-over 75 placed him 12th in the field at 1-over 217 (74-68-75).
Negri had a pair of quick birdies on his fourth and fifth holes of the final round to get to 8-under for the tournament, but things began to unravel from there. Three bogeys on the back nine preceded a double bogey at the par-3 17th. He then had the triple at the par-3 second hole that left him at 5-over 77 for the day and 1-under 215 (70-68-77) for the tournament, which still was good for ninth place overall to give him the first top-10 of his collegiate career.
Competing as an individual, senior Scott Smith (Pepper Pike, Ohio/University School) had a good round going Sunday. He then carded a 9er at No. 14, however, to eventually give him a 7-over 79. Smith finished 75th at 20-over 236 (80-77-79).
Northwestern - 3rd/15 292-284-293=869 (+5)
T9 -- Matthew Negri -- 70-68-77=215 (-1)
T12 -- Dylan Wu -- 74-68-75=217 (+1)
T12 -- Josh Jamieson -- 74-71-72=217 (+1)
T36 -- Bennett Lavin -- 74-77-72=223 (+7)
T68 -- Sam Triplett -- 79-79-74=232 (+16)
*T75 - Scott Smith -- 80-77-79=236 (+20)
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