Men's Golf | October 1

MADISON, Wis. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team rallied in the final round Tuesday to win the Badger Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course by three strokes over Long Beach State and the tournament hosts Wisconsin.
 
The Huskies were tied for second at 13-under par with Long Beach State going into the final round with Wisconsin leading at -15. Managing windy conditions and firm greens, NIU posted the lowest team score of the day with a four-over par 292 to pass both The Beach and the Badgers to get to nine-under par.
 
"Yesterday was a perfect college golf day with calm winds and tough hole locations," said head coach John Carlson. "Today was a true test. The temperatures were cooler, the wind was up to 15, 20 miles per hour. They didn't move the tees around and the hole locations were in the toughest spots. The comeback Conner McCall made was huge today. He was five-over at the 11^th tee and finished two-over. Felix Krammer just grinded out a great round of golf to cap the best finish of his collegiate career."
 
"There's just so many pluses at the end of the day. We drove the ball like champions this week and it's a testament to the work that these guys put in and the focus on that. Us as coaches, our fans and donors should be so proud of these eight guys."
 
Felix Krammer got out to a fantastic start on Sunday, carding a bogey-free round of 64 to tie the NIU 18-hole scoring record set last by Tommy Dunsire in 2022. Krammer played the front nine at five-under par 31 and added three more birdies for his 64.
 
"I knew I was having a good round at the turn," said Krammer, who finished the tournament tied for second individually at -7. "I remembered Coach Carlson saying his best round here was a 63 so I thought 'Well, I got plenty of holes ahead of me and opportunities for birdies. Let's chase that nine-under'."
 
"Felix was very impressive in the first round," Carlson added. "He was in the center of the fairway, hit great iron shots and converted when he needed to. He played the par-fives very well and set the tone for the rest of the week."
 
NIU's best round of the tournament came on Monday with an eight-under par 280, the lowest single round team score of the season so far. Freshman Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) had the low round for the Huskies with a five-under par 67. Raupp played the front nine at five-under par, highlighted by an eagle at the par-five sixth. Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) also had an eagle on the front nine Monday, carding a three-under par 69 with four birdies as well. Krammer and Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) both shot even par 72 to round out the scoring group and move NIU into a tie for second place going into Tuesday's final round.
 
Sluzas was the only player in the tournament to post a score under 70 on Tuesday. The senior carded a second consecutive round of 69 which vaulted him into a tie for fifth place at -4 for the tournament. Krammer had an eagle as part of his final round 73. Conner McCall (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) had a 74 with five birdies on Tuesday. Raupp had a 76 on Tuesday and finished the tournament tied for 12^th at -1.
 
"On a day like today, you're going to take what you can get and can only focus on what you can control," said Krammer. "You're going to have a bad break every now and then but it's about how you go about it."
 
This is the first tournament the Huskies have won since the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championship. It's the third tournament won by NIU in Carlson's tenure.
 
"We just didn't press the panic button," Carlson said. "We sorted out what we needed to get better at so that we can put our players in a position to succeed. This week really showed that. It's full steam ahead. I'm so proud of the comeback that we've already made in our short season, but this is certainly the team that we knew we had when we started."
 
The Huskies' next event is the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational Oct. 13-14, hosted by Michigan State at Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Fla.
 
--NIU--
 
Individual Results
 
T-2. Felix Krammer                       64-72-73=209 (-7)
T-5. Ben Sluzas                            74-69-69=212 (-4)
T-12. Patrick Raupp                      72-67-76=215 (-1)
T-15. Patrick Bruminhent*             69-71-76=216 (E)
T-40. Conner McCall                     73-77-74=224 (+8)
T-59. Craig Long                           76-72-79=227 (+11)
T-75. Beau Petersen*                   74-78-80=232 (+16)
 
*- Individual