Men's Golf | May 16
SALEM, S.C. - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team kept itself in contention for an NCAA Championship berth on Monday, posting a team score of 10-under par 275 to move into fifth place after the second round of the NCAA Regional at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls.
NIU is at 23-under par through two rounds of the regional and have put itself in contention for an NCAA Championship berth going into Wednesday's final round. The top five teams from each of the six regionals qualify for the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. May 26-31.
The Huskies finished Tuesday five strokes ahead of sixth-place Georgia Southern and seven clear of seventh-place Clemson. Arkansas leads the regional at 39-under par with Georgia Tech second at -32 and North Carolina and New Mexico tied for third at 25-under par.
"I'm really excited for our players and NIU Golf," said head coach
John Carlson. "Tomorrow is going to be a great day for our program. We put ourselves right where we want to be going into the final round, with the opportunity to go play for a national championship in Scottsdale, Ariz."
Leading the way for the Huskies Tuesday was
Campbell Wolf (Mechanicsburg, Pa./ETSU) who carded a team-best five-under par 67, matching
Zach Place's (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) 67 from Monday's first round. After making par on each of his first three holes on the back nine, where NIU started its round, Wolf caught fire and made birdie on six of next seven holes. He capped it off with a birdie at the first which put him at six-under for the day. His only bogey came at the par-three fifth. He is four-under for the tournament and tied for 22nd.
"I've been playing well the last two weeks, and yesterday I just didn't get anything in my round," Wolf said. "Today I wanted to keep the same approach. I've been driving the ball really well, and today I hit some iron shots real close and made some putts."
"That round of 67 was huge for our team," Carlson added. "He has been team-first this whole year. It's been a complete team effort the last two days. I look forward to each of them having the same attitude tomorrow."
Freshman
Ian Bruchhauser (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) had another stellar round Tuesday, posting a three-under par round of 69. He is tied for eighth at -7 after his 68 Monday. Bruchhauser birdied three of his first seven holes Tuesday to go to seven-under for the tournament. He bounced back from bogeys at 17 and four with birdies at three and eight to complete his round of 69.
"Ian has been tremendous this week," said Carlson. "The golf course has been firm and fast and he's been driving the ball straight. That gives him more opportunities with his wedges to show off his short game. He's shown some resiliency this week, keeping his momentum going and being patient."
Place and
Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) both shot under par on Tuesday for the second consecutive round. Dunsire made an eagle at the par-five 16th after a bogey on 13 to get to one-under for the day. He then made 11 straight pars to close out his round of 71. Dunsire is tied for 19th at five-under par. Place also carded a 71 on Tuesday to stay in the top-15, tied for 13th at -6.
NIU starts its final round of the regional where it's been each of the first two days. The Huskies will tee off from hole 10 starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.
"This is what you work all year for, and we've been playing well since the second round at Vanderbilt in April," said Wolf about tomorrow's final round. "We just need to continue doing what we're doing and go out there tomorrow and shoot the lowest round we can."
—NIU—
