Men's Golf | April 15

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team tied its 18-hole scoring record Saturday morning, wrapping up the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by Iowa Saturday afternoon at Finkbine Golf Course in third place.
 
The weather forecast for the weekend moved the tournament from Saturday-Sunday to Friday-Saturday. The tournament field of 13 teams played from 1 p.m. to 7:45 Friday night and wrapped up the 54-hole tournament Saturday.
 
"It was a whirlwind tournament for sure," said head coach John Carlson. "We left at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning and played 48 holes including our practice round, then finished today. I credit our team for their ability to bounce back and be ready to compete after a quick turnaround at Vanderbilt. We were in the mix with a bunch of great programs and that definitely propel us into Ohio State next weekend."
 
The Huskies put together a team score of three-under par 285 in Friday's first round that put NIU in third place. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) led NIU with a bogey-free round of four-under par 68. Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) turned in a 70 in round one, making a key eagle at the par-five 15^th. Ian Bruchhauser (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) posted a one-over 73 and Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) rounded out the scoring with a two-over 74.
 
NIU blistered the front nine in the second round, combining for 16 birdies against four bogeys. Sluzas tied his best round of the season with a six-under par 66, playing the front nine at five-under. Dunsire posted a second straight round of 68 as Bruchhauser improved by five strokes with a two-under par 70 that included an eagle. Place posted a one-under par 71 to wrap up NIU's team score of 275, which tied the lowest 18-hole team score in program history set in March of 2016 at the Desert Shootout.
 
"We drove the ball great in round two and capitalized on some opportunities," Carlson said. "All five of our guys played at par or lower. We just stacked birdies at the end of the round to move into second place."
 
The Huskies finished Saturday with a final round three-over par 291. Sluzas went under par for the third straight round, leading NIU with a one-under par 71. He finished the tournament tied for third with a 54-hole score of eight-under par 208, his best 54-hole score in his NIU career. Sluzas was two strokes back of Iowa's Mac McClear who finished in first place at -10.
 
"Ben drove the ball as well as I've ever seen him in college," said Carlson. "That really made the par-fives short, but he also took advantage of so many good iron shots as well. He kept his round going today by holing putts, especially his 15-footer for eagle that put him in a tie for the lead with four holes to go."
 
Place also carded a 71 in the final round, which put him at even par for the tournament and in a tie for 20^th place. Dunsire finished tied for sixth at six-under par after a 74 in the final round. His 54-hole score of 210 tied his career low set earlier this season at the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational while the sixth-place showing is a new career best. This is the second time this spring NIU had three golfers finish in the top-20 in a tournament.
 
NIU's team score of 852 was the lowest 54-hole score for the Huskies this season, and the fourth-lowest since 1980. At 12-under par, the Huskies finished three strokes ahead of Iowa State who finished fourth.
 
NIU plays its last tournament before the Mid-American Conference Championships April 21-23 at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, hosted by Ohio State at the OSU Scarlet Course.
 
--NIU--