Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Kepler Intercollegiate
Wildcats Capture Kepler Intercollegiate Title
4/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 16, 2006
Final Kepler Intercollegiate Team Results
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Final Kepler Intercollegiate Individual ResultsDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Final Kepler Intercollegiate StatisticsDownload Free Acrobat Reader
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Northwestern's Kyle Moore probably could not have written a better script than the one that unfolded Sunday afternoon at the 36th Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.
The 15-team tournament, hosted by Ohio State University, was moved from its regular course (OSU's Scarlet Course is under construction) to Dublin's Muirfield Village Golf Club, home of the PGA's Memorial Tournament. For Moore, a native of Dublin who attended nearby Scioto H.S., what better course than Muirfield to win your first college tournament.
That is exactly what happened Sunday as Moore finished the tournament in a tie with Indiana's Seth Brandon. Moore, however, won the playoff when he scored a par on the second hole. He finished the Kepler with a 1-under 215 (68-73-74). His previous career-best finish came a year ago at the Big Ten Championships where he placed third.
Led by Moore, the Wildcats also won their third all-time Kepler crown. Northwestern is one of just seven schools to capture the tournament title. (Ohio State, Indiana, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), UNLV and Xavier are the other six schools to earn Kepler titles.) The Wildcats finished with a 4-stroke win over Indiana, which held the tourney lead after Saturday's first two rounds.
It was also the Wildcats' 20th team tournament title in Pat Goss' 10-year head coaching tenure.
For the second straight round, junior David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) paced the 'Cats with a 2-under 70. Merkow, who led the tournament field with 17 birdies on 54 holes, wound up in third place, just two strokes back of Moore. Merkow carded a 1-over 217 (77-70-70). It was Merkow's fourth top-10 finish of the season.
Senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) placed 13th with a 9-over 225 (79-70-76). Sophomore Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) also carded a 76 on Sunday and placed 16th with a 10-over 226 (74-76-76). Junior Chris Wilson, another Dublin native, finished 30th with a 14-over 230 (80-71-79).
The Wildcats, ranked No. 26 in a pair of coaches' polls and No. 33 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index, return to action next weekend at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational in East Lansing, Mich. This will be Northwestern's final regular-season tournament before hosting the 2006 Big Ten Championships at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., April 28-30.
