DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team opens play in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Men's Golf Championships Friday morning at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.
 
Tournament: MAC Men's Golf Championship
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind.
Course: Sycamore Hills Golf Club
Format: 72 holes (36 holes Friday, 18 holes Saturday, 18 holes Sunday)
Start Times: 8:30 a.m. ET Friday; 8 a.m. ET Saturday and Sunday
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,331
 
Field (9)
NIU, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, Toledo
 
Lineup
1. Jordan Less; 2. Joo-Young Lee; 3. Matt Cholod; 4. Paul Schlimm; 5. Thomas DeMarco
 
"This is what you prepare the whole year for, to be able to showcase your team's talents," said director of golf Tom Porten. "You try to get them to play their best golf at the right time. It all starts with where you're playing, and we're playing at one of the best venues we've played at in several years. Sycamore Hills has hosted multiple PGA events and is a real quality venue. The guys like it and it fits our style of play. It will reward good shot making. The courses we have played leading up to this weekend have been in preparation of taking on Sycamore Hills."
 
One Huskie who has been playing his best golf over the last two weeks is sophomore Jordan Less (Elmhurst, Ill./York). After not making the lineup for the DA Weibring Intercollegiate and Missouri Tiger Invitational earlier this month, Less has played three of his last five rounds at even par or lower. He tied for eighth at last weekend's Robert Kepler Intercollegiate at Ohio State, posting a final round two-under par 69 to cap his best finish of the season.
 
"It's really nice to have, arguably, your best player last fall kinda go through what he went through and come out of it not only back to where he was, but better than ever," Porten said about Less. "It shows what hard work can do. When he got his opportunity to get back into the lineup at Purdue he took full advantage of it. He validated that last weekend at Ohio State by being one of the top players in the event. Having a hot player going into this tournament is always an advantage. Our guys our feeding off how Jordan has played."
 
Redshirt-senior Joo-Young Lee (Hillard, Ohio/Hillard Darby/Xavier) is looking to leave his mark on the tournament this weekend. Lee tied for second at the 2016 MAC Championship, leading for a majority of the event. This season, Lee is leading NIU with a 73.67 stroke average that is eighth-best in the conference.
 
"Joo has a history of playing well at the MAC Championship," said Porten. "Two years ago, he had the lead after the 36-hole day and all the way up to the last nine holes of the event and finished second. I know he wants to end his conference play on a high note. He has high expectations for this weekend and I think he'll rise to the occasion."
 
"They completely believe in what they're capable of," Porten added about his squad for the MAC Championships. "There's no 'I think I can' in this group. They all played the course in the fall, and it fits their eye from the tee into the greens. If we can get off to a good start Friday, we'll have a good chance to be in the final pairing Saturday and Sunday."
 
Play begins Friday morning with the first two rounds of competition.
 
--NIU--