ROBERT KEPLER INTERCOLLEGIATE
Dates: April 22-23, 2017
Site: Columbus, Ohio
Course: Scarlet Course, The Ohio State University Golf Club
Teams: Akron; Ball State; Bowling Green; Eastern Michigan; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kent State; Miami (OH); Michigan State; Nebraska; NIU; Ohio State (host); Penn State; Rutgers
Par: 71
Distance: 7,455-yards
DeKALB - The NIU men's golf team heads to Columbus, Ohio to compete in its final regular season tournament of the year, The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate on April 22-23 at The Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course.
The Buckeye ran event comes after NIU tied for ninth at Purdue's Boilermaker Invitational last week. The Scarlet course will play at par 71 and a distance of 7,455-yards.
The Huskies finished strong in West Lafayette with a final round of 291 (+3), a team-best score, that solidified their ninth place finish. They finished tied with Southern Illinois and ahead of No. 48 Michigan and No. 56 Michigan State.
Charlie Cameron led the Huskies at +6, placing him in a tie for 26th. He shot a final round 74 (+2) after shooting a 71 and 77 in rounds one and two, respectively.
Matt Cholod and
Thomas DeMarco found their stride in the final round shooting 71 (-1) and 72 (E), respectively, as Cholod finished tied for 40th while DeMarco tied for 37th.
Playing as an individual,
Paul Schlimm had the second best score for the Huskies with a three day tally of 223 (+7) that put him in a tie for 30th. The competition was Schlimm's first of the spring, last appearing at the Pinetree Intercollegiate in Kennesaw, Ga., on Oct. 24-25. He will play in the NIU lineup this week as its No. 5.
The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate is a 15-team field comprised of strictly Big Ten and MAC teams. NIU will face MAC Rivals Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, No. 11 Kent State, and Miami (OH) and be paired with the Zips and RedHawks on day one of the competition. No. 7 Illinois and No. 44 Penn State will also be attending.
The Ohio State University Golf Club is located in central Columbus and features two 18-hole courses fittingly named the Gray and Scarlet courses. The Scarlet course, designed by Alister Mackenzie and built by Perry Maxwell, was renovated in 2006 by world renowned golfer and famed alum, Jack Nicklaus. This renovation included changing bunkers back to the original Mackenzie design, lengthening the course and changing the par to 71.
This prestigious course, built in 1938, has hosted a multitude of tournaments including 10 men's NCAA National Championships, several U.S. Open qualifiers, U.S. Amateur qualifiers and the first ever women's collegiate golf tournament in 1941.
The tournament will begin with 36 continuous holes on Saturday with a 7:30 a.m. Central shotgun start. The final 18 holes will be on Sunday starting from holes one and ten. Huskie fans can follow the tournament on BirdieFire.
