Wildcats In Top-2 After 36 Holes At Desert Mountain Intercollegiate

3/4/2017 6:13:00 PM | Men's Golf

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Led by four of its five scoring golfers being in the Top-15, the Wildcats will tee off Sunday's third-and-final round of the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in second on the Outlaw Course. Freshman Everton Hawksin, competing as an individual, is the top Wildcats golfer on the leaderboard after two rounds, in a tie for fourth.

As a team, the Wildcats recorded 51 birdies, seven more than anyone else in the field on a day during which only four of the 12 teams had more than 33. Hawkins, Sam Triplett and Andrew Whalen are tied for the tournament lead with 13 birdies each through two rounds, with Ryan Lumsden close behind at 10, eighth-most in the field after the opening day of competition.

Hawkins is tied for fourth after 36 holes. He carded a 1-under 71 in the morning but was molten hot in the afternoon with seven birdies on his way to a 5-under 67 in round two. The rookie's best stretch came with four birdies in a six-hole stretch from No. 4 to No. 9 in the second round. He then finished his first day of competition with an eagle on the 532-yard, Par-5 No. 16 (Hawkins opened his second round on No. 17).

Dylan Wu posted one of the cleanest second rounds in the field during the afternoon, with five birdies and 12 pars, including birides on two of his final four holes, the 187-yard, Par-3 No. 15 and the 532-yard, Par-5 No. 16. After two rounds, the junior ranks fifth in the field with a team-high 24 pars.

Whalen played his final ten holes on Saturday at 4-under, after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, and then again on Nos. 16 and 17.

The Wildcats will tee off Round 3 at 9:15 a.m., on No. 1, paired with Michigan and Kansas. Conor Richardson will lead off for Northwestern, followed by Triplett, Lumsden, Whalen and Wu in eight-minute increments. Hawkins will tee off at 10 a.m. on No. 1 paired with individuals from Michigan and Purdue.

Northwestern – 2/12 • 289-279-R3 = 568 (-8)
T4 – Everton HAWKINS [Ind.] – 71-67-R3 = 138 (-6)
8 – Dylan WU – 72-68-R3 = 140 (-4)
T11 – Andrew WHALEN – 72-70-R3 = 142 (-2)
T15 – Ryan LUMSDEN – 74-69-R3 = 143 (-1)
T15 – Sam TRIPLETT – 71-72-R3 = 143 (-1)
T35 – Conor RICHARDSON – 74-74-R3 = 148 (+4)