Men's Golf | April 13

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team is back in action on Saturday for the first day of competition at the Boilermaker Invitational, hosted by Purdue at Kampen Golf Course.
 
Tournament: Boilermaker Invitational
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Course: Kampen Golf Course
Format: 54 holes
Start Times: 8 a.m. CST shotgun starts
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,465 yards
 
Field (17)
NIU, Purdue, Kent State, Northwestern, UCF, Ohio State, Miami (Ohio), Wisconsin, Michigan, Cincinnati, Indiana, Toledo, UT-Arlington, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Wichita State, Xavier
 
Lineup
1. Thomas DeMarco; 2. Joo-Young Lee; 3. Matt Cholod; 4. Jordan Less; 5. Paul Schlimm
 
The Huskies have a quick turnaround this weekend, having wrapped up the Tiger Invitational at Missouri on Tuesday. NIU, however, is no stranger to the Kampen Golf Course. This is the 12^th time the Huskies will play in the Boilermaker Invitational. Last season, the Huskies tied for ninth in the tournament at seven-over par. Paul Schlimm, who is making his first appearance in the NIU lineup this spring this week, was NIU's top finisher as an individual with a seven-over par 223 to tie for 30^th.
 
"We have a lot of knowledge of the golf course at Purdue," said director of golf Tom Porten. "Everyone in our lineup has played there and had some success. We have our biggest, most physical team going this weekend and with the way the conditions look, the course could play longer and we'll need the length this lineup has. We're excited to have a chance to continue to turn things around as we hit the stretch drive toward the MAC Championship."
 
In order for the Huskies to bounce back from a 12^th-place showing at Missouri, NIU will have to improve its play on par-fives. NIU was +11 on the par-fives at The Club at Old Hawthorne, which was part of the Huskies' fall from sixth to 12^th by the tournament's end. When NIU finished second at Missouri in 2017, the Huskies led the field in par-five scoring at -13.
 
"We've been working on the discipline of shot selection on par-fives," Porten said. "We're going to tighten up our play on those holes at Purdue. The par-fives at Kampen are a little more difficult than the ones at Missouri, but our team is very familiar with how to navigate them. We've got to get them thinking right all the time, no matter if there's 30 miles per hour winds or rain, and stick with the gameplan."
 
This weekend's tournament also marks the first time NIU will get to see its Mid-American Conference competition this spring, with the conference championship two weeks away.
 
"We're going to get to see our conference competition for the first time this spring over the next two weeks. It'll be good to get that read of where we are among the MAC teams we'll see this weekend and next week at Ohio State heading into the conference championship."
 
Play begins Saturday at 8 a.m. with a scheduled 36 holes to be played.
 
--NIU--