Men's Golf | October 16
VERO BEACH, Fla. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team set a new 18-hole team scoring record this week at the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Michigan State at Quail Valley Golf Club.
NIU got out to a fast start in round one Sunday morning.
Josh Kirkham (Hinsdale, Ill./Bradley) led the way with a five-under par 67, his best round of the fall.
Felix Krammer (Waakirchen, Germany/Arkansas State) had a four-under par 68 with
Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) adding a round of 69.
Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) rounded out the scoring group with a two-under par 70. The 14-under par 274 set a new team single round scoring record, besting the previous mark of 275 set most recently in the first round of last May's NCAA Regional.
"A record like that comes with making many birdies, hitting outstanding tee shots and holing a lot of putts," said head coach
John Carlson. "The energy level was really high in that entire round, even when the winds picked up on the back nine. It was a complete team effort. Craig came back in the lineup this week and contributed, which was a big step for him as a freshman."
The Huskies were in second place after the first round, trailing Indiana by three strokes. NIU shot under par as a team in the second round with a one-under par 287.
Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) led the Huskies with a three-under par 69 in Sunday's second round with Place posting a round of 70.
Kirkham carded NIU's best round in Monday's final round. His two-under par 70 capped off his best tournament of the fall. Kirkham posted his first top-20 performance, taking 18
th with a 54-hole score of six-under par 210.
"Josh is a tremendous talent," Carlson said. "I knew he was going to post a low score and it was good to see him lead the way on Sunday. He needs to prove that he fits into the level of golf courses we're playing and the level of competition in the tournaments we're playing. He works really hard and that work ethic paid off this week with a top-20 finish in the strongest field we played this fall."
Place tied for 26
th at three-under par after posting a round of 74 on Monday. Sluzas finished tied for 50
th at one-over par with his final round 75.
NIU tied for ninth place with Memphis with a score of eight-under par 856, two strokes ahead of tournament hosts Michigan State. South Florida won the tournament by one stroke over Toledo.
"We've put ourselves in contention to win in each of the last two weeks," said Carlson. "We were in the last group at Purdue on the final day, and this week we were paired with perennial NCAA Regional teams in Liberty and North Florida. Our ability to adapt to different conditions, different grasses, different layouts is something we have to continue to work on as a program."
"We accomplished a goal that I set out this year to be competitive in every field that we played. The last two tournaments we played had the best teams we've played with since last year's NCAA Regional. We've also improved our scoring from last year through five tournaments, and that's a credit to Ben, Zach, Felix and Josh who have been mainstays in the lineup."
This week's tournament was the final event on the fall schedule for the Huskies. NIU is back in action Feb. 26-28, 2024 at the Lake Las Vegas Invitational.
--NIU--
