Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
The Boilermaker
Strong Second Round Pushes NU Up at The Boilermaker
4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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The Boilermaker Kampen Course • West Lafayette, Ind. • NU's Place: 5th/15 teams Birdiefire.com Live Scores • Day One Results  |
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern put together a strong afternoon round during a 36-hole day at The Boilermaker Saturday on Purdue's Kampen Course, rising to just two strokes out of third place among the 15-team field.
The Wildcats shot rounds of 4-over 292 and 4-under 284 on Saturday to enter Sunday's final round at even-par 576. NU is one stroke behind Ohio State and two strokes behind third-place GRU Augusta. Illinois -- which has spent much of the year ranked No. 1 in the nation according to Golfstat -- leads the tournament at 32-under par while Louisville is in second at 15-under.
Northwestern had just one player under par in the first round and three student-athletes at 2-over 74. The Wildcats bounced back with three red numbers in the afternoon and were just one score away from a truly great team round.
The third and final round of The Boilermaker is tomorrow, Sunday, April 19.
Senior Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) was the lone Wildcat to break par in the opening round Saturday morning, finishing with a birdie-birdie flourish on his 16th and 17th holes to card a four-birdie, 2-under 70. He went deeper in the afternoon, recording six birdies against just two bogeys for a season-best 4-under 68 that shot him up into the top-10 individually at 6-under 138 (70-68), good for fifth position entering Sunday's final round.
Dylan Wu (Medford, Ore./St. Mary's School) made a birdie on his second hole of the morning before giving that stroke back at No. 11 -- his sixth hole in the shotgun start. He remained at even par until his final three holes, where two bogeys led to a 2-over 74.
He more than recovered in the afternoon to match Negri's low round for the Wildcats. Wu was on fire at the start, making three birdies in his first four holes. He gave a shot back shortly after that beginning, but two birdies in his final five holes resulted in a 4-under 68 that shot him up into the top 20 with a 13th-place 2-under 142 (74-68).
Junior Josh Jamieson (St. Andrews, Scotland/High School of Dundee) made par on his first seven holes and was 2-over par in the opening round through 14. He went birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie in his last four for an eventful 2-over 74. Then, in the afternoon, he started things off rough with a double bogey on his very first hole before heating up from there. The double came at No. 5 during the shotgun start, and he followed it with birdies at Nos. 7, 11, 14 and 14 to get all the way down to 2-under par. He eventually would finish with a 1-under 71 to rise up to 21st in the individual standings at 1-over 145 (74-71).
Senior Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) led Northwestern for much of the opening round before a rough finish. He stood 2-under after 11 holes of play, but three bogeys in a four-hole stretch put him over par before a double bogey at the par-3 fifth -- his 17th hole of the round -- left him 3-over. He bounced back for a finishing birdie and NU's third 2-over 74 of Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon had Lavin on a reverse trajectory before a bogey-bogey finish that left NU just one score shy of a phenomenal team round. Lavin struggled to 5-over par through 12 holes, but came back for birdies at Nos. 1 and 3 to get a pair of strokes back. His two bogeys on his last two holes, however, gave him a 5-over 77 to place him 52nd in the field at 7-over 151 (74-77).
Freshman Sam Triplett (Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy Prep) carded matching 7-over 79s in both of Saturday's rounds to sit in 76th place at 14-over 158.
Competing as an individual, senior Scott Smith (Pepper Pike, Ohio/University School) went 80-77 to rank 74th in the field at 13-over 157.
Northwestern - 5th/15 • 292-284=576 (E)
5 -- Matthew Negri -- 70-68=138 (-6)
T13 -- Dylan Wu -- 74-68=142 (-2)
T21 -- Josh Jamieson -- 74-71=145 (+1)
T52 -- Bennett Lavin -- 74-77=151 (+7)
*T74 - Scott Smith -- 80-77=157 (+13)
T76 -- Sam Triplett -- 79-79=158 (+14)
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