Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Seek Second Straight Tournament Title in East Lansing
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 21, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following team and individual titles at the Kepler Intercollegiate, Northwestern heads to East Lansing, Mich., this weekend to take part in the 39th Fossum Invitational.
The event, which is hosted by Michigan State, will serve as the Wildcats' final tuneup before hosting the 2006 Big Ten Championships at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Ill., April 28-30.
NU appears to be regaining its fall season form, one that took the 'Cats to as high as 12th in the national rankings. Last weekend NU won its second tournament title of the year -- a feat that had not been accomplished since 2002-03. The team's three-round score of 878 was its lowest of the spring.
As an indicator of how deep and talented NU's lineup is, Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto), who is fourth on the squad in stroke average, won the individual title at the Kepler Intercollegiate.
David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) continued his strong play last week. The junior finished just two strokes back of Moore in third place. It was his fourth top-10 finish this year. He leads the team with a stroke average of 72.52 and is the highest-ranked golfer in the Big Ten (No. 52 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index). He has carded par or better in 17 of his 27 rounds.
Fellow junior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) is second on the team in scoring average with a 73.70 mark.
Senior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) returned for the Kepler Intercollegiate after taking a week off from collegiate play to participate in the Masters Tournament. Dougherty placed 13th and finished in the top 20 for the second time this season.
Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) finished a stroke behind Dougherty a week ago, placing 16th.
All five golfers in the NU lineup have fired rounds in the 60s this season.
The 54-hole Fossum Invitational has a 12-team field with eight of the schools hailing from the Big Ten. Defending champion Minnesota will face conference rivals Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Ball State, Denver, Toledo and Xavier complete the field.
The 'Cats are the highest-ranked team in the tournament for the second time in as many weeks. NU has climbed to No. 29 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, four spots ahead of Minnesota. NU is 4-0 against the Golden Gophers this year and is an impressive 22-4 when matched up against a Big Ten foe.
The GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll and the Golf World Men's Coaches' Poll both pegged the 'Cats at No. 26, but neither has been updated since the Kepler Intercollegiate.
The 'Cats are looking for back-to-back tournament titles for the first time since 2001. That year the Fossum Invitational was the first of the pair of wins. NU followed that victory with a Big Ten Championship.
The Fossum Invitational will be played on Forest Akers West G.C., the Spartans' home course. It is a par 72, 7,013-yard track.
The event begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. Thirty-six holes are scheduled for Saturday with the final 18 set for Sunday.
The tournament can be followed live at Fossum Invitational.
