Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational
Northwestern Finishes Fifth at Fossum
5/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 1, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Led by a career-best 5-under 67 in Sunday's third round, sophomore David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) finished fifth at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational at MSU's Forest Akers West Golf Course. His strong play, coupled with a 10th-place showing from sophomore Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) helped the Wildcats finish fifth among the 15 teams.
Merkow fired a 67 earlier this year at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, but that was on a par-71 course. Merkow, who opened the Fossum with a 77, finished the last 36 holes with a 7-under 137. His fifth-place score (2-under 214) was four strokes back of tourney co-champions Ben Greve of Minnesota and Jeff Overton of Indiana.
Wilson closed out his 54 holes with a 2-over 218 (69-73-76), while freshman Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) placed 27th with a 7-over 223 (74-72-77).
Junior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) and freshman Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) rounded out NU's contingent, placing 29th and 49th, respectively. Dougherty, after opening the tourney with a 7-over 79, shot 72 and 73 in his last two rounds to finish with an 8-over 224. Moore closed at 13-over (77-75-77).
Minnesota came from behind and edged Illinois and Xavier for the team title. The host Spartans, who were the top-ranked team in the event, finished three strokes ahead of the Wildcats.
Final results are available for the tournament by linking to Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational. Other tournament information can be found at Michigan State Men's Golf.
Up next for the Wildcats is the Big Ten Championships, a 54-hole tournament, being held Friday through Sunday (May 6-8) in Madison, Wis.
