DeKALB, Ill. – The NIU men's golf team returns to action on Monday morning for the first day of competition at Tiger Invitational, hosted by Missouri at The Club at Old Hawthorne.
 
Tournament: Tiger Invitational
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Course: The Club at Old Hawthorne
Format: 54 holes
Start Times: 8 a.m. CST shotgun starts
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,221 yards
 
Field (19)
NIU, Missouri, Kansas State, South Dakota State, Morehead State, UMKC, Illinois State, SIU Edwardsville, Oral Roberts, Central Arkansas, IUPUI, Missouri State, North Dakota State, Seattle, Drake, South Dakota, Loyola Chicago, Creighton, Northern Iowa
 
Lineup
1. Matt Cholod; 2. Thomas DeMarco; 3. Joo-Young Lee; 4. Salvador Rocha; 5. Michael Mattas
 
The Huskies have had some success at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo. NIU finished second in this tournament last season, with all five golfers in the lineup that week finishing in the top-25. Salvador Rocha, Thomas DeMarco, and Matt Cholod return to Old Hawthorne this season. Rocha finished 11^th last year with a two-over par 218. DeMarco tied for 18^th at +7 and Cholod tied for 21^st at +9.
 
"The Club at Old Hawthorne, much like the rest of the courses we'll be playing on for the rest of the season and leading into the Mid-American Conference Championship, are all bigger, modern-style courses like Rich Harvest Farms," said director of golf Tom Porten. "Hawthorne has quite a bit of elevation change, pretty generous fairways, and I think that favors our guys who can hit it with some distance. We played well on the golf course last year and are excited to get back there. Anytime you've had success at a place you want to go back and see if you can repeat it."
 
Cholod will be looking to continue his current run of success this week. The junior was named the MAC Men's Golfer of the Week on Friday after posting his best 54-hole score and highest finish as a Huskie at the DA Weibring Intercollegiate. Cholod posted a three-round score of 221 to tie for 11^th place at +8. He battled through high winds last weekend to play his last 36 holes at two-over par. Cholod was the first NIU golfer to finish in the top-15 this spring.
 
"The thing that Matt's been able to do is, from a physical and technical sense, is improve his short game," Porten said of the reigning MAC Golfer of the Week. "His putting was streaky in the past, but its now more consistent. His pitching and short game metrics have gone way up. When he does miss the green, he's able to get the ball much closer to the hole and then make the putt to save shots. He's much more confident and is hitting a lot of quality shots."
 
Play begins at 8 a.m. Monday morning.
 
--NIU--