Men's Golf | May 15

SALEM, S.C. - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team made a big impression in the first round of the NCAA Men's Golf Regional at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, tying an 18-hole team scoring record with a 13-under par 275 to finish the day in fourth place.

"To tie the NIU scoring record in the first round of the NCAA Regional is outstanding by our guys," said head coach John Carlson. "We started hot and played consistent golf all day. All five guys were contributors. Getting off to a good start helped each guy walk confidently on the course."

This is the second time this spring NIU has had a team score of 275. The Huskies posted that total in the second round of the Hawkeye Invitational at Iowa on April 15. NIU finished the day three strokes ahead of fifth place Georgia Tech and two strokes behind top-seed North Carolina at -15. Arkansas leads after day one with a team score of 22-under par 266 with New Mexico second at -16.

Senior Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) led the way for the Huskies with a career-low round of five-under par 67. His previous career best was 68, set most recently in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Championship on May 1. With NIU starting on the back nine Monday morning, Place birdied his first two holes to start the day two-under. At the turn, Place was even par but hit his stride to start the front nine. He birdied each of the first four holes to get to four-under, then birdied the eighth to finish with a round of 67, putting him in a tie for eight place.

"It was a fun round and it was great to see the guys put up some birdies," Place said. "We kept feeding off each other and hitting putts."

"Zach has so much poise and composure," Carlson added. "In big tournaments like this, he not only expects to play well, but he does play well. I expect him to play another solid round again tomorrow."

Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and Ian Bruchhauser (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) both carded four-under par rounds of 68 on Monday, which put them in a group tied for 13th. Both players did not card a bogey in their first three holes, playing the back nine at a three-under par 33. Dunsire got to four-under with a birdie at the par-four third hole, but a bogey at the seventh moved him back to three-under. He bounced back with a birdie at the eighth and a par to finish out his round. Bruchhauser had two bogeys on the front nine that moved him to two-under. However, the freshman finished with a flourish by making birdies at the eighth and ninth to tie his lowest round of the year.

"Ian had his best round of the season today. His short game is impeccable and he hit more greens and gave himself more chances. I walked with Tommy all day and he was solid from tee to green. He has the ability to win this thing individually. Tommy's been playing at that kind of level down the stretch."

Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) rounded out the NIU scoring group Monday with an even par round of 72. Sluzas was four-over through his first six holes then made an eagle at the par-five 16th and a birdie at 18 to finish his first nine holes one-over. He made three birdies on the front to get to even par for the day. Campbell Wolf (Mechanicsburg, Pa./ETSU) posted a one-over par 73 in his first round.

NIU starts round two of the Regional on Tuesday, May 16 at 8:30 a.m. ET, once again from the back nine. The Huskies will be paired with Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern.

—NIU—