Despite a strong weekend from Daniel Svärd, Northwestern struggled to contend in a loaded field at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The weekend offered one of the toughest fields of the Wildcats’ season, with three top-10 programs in the country making the trip: No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Illinois.
Northwestern opened the competition with a strong first round, with Svärd and Rowan Sullivan carrying the load, finishing the day with a 3-under-par 69 and 2-under-par 70, respectively.
Ethan Tseng added a 1-under-par 71 and Mark Gazi came in at 1-over-par 73. Monty Holcombe had a difficult round with his 7-over-par 79 getting dropped from the team’s score, as the Wildcats were able to finish the day 5-under, good for ninth place with two rounds remaining.
The second round proved to be Svärd’s best showing of the tournament, shooting a 4-under-par 68 that included four birdies on the back nine to keep Northwestern within reach. Holcombe made a big comeback in the second round with a 2-under-par 70, while Sullivan and Gazi both contributed 1-over-par 73 and 2-over-par 75, respectively. This time around, it was Tseng with a rough afternoon, dropping a 5-over-par 77.
The 3-under-par team total would serve as the Wildcats’ worst outing of the three rounds, not enough as the top of the leaderboard began to separate themselves from the competition.
Northwestern put its best effort forward in the final 18 holes. Gazi delivered his best round of the event, shooting 3-under-par 69 with birdies on holes six, 11 and 14 to bring him back to even par on the weekend. Svärd and Tseng each added 2-under-par 70s, while Holcombe added a 1-under-par 71. Sullivan was the drop of the day with a 4-over-par 76.
The Wildcats’ 8-under in round three was their team low on the weekend, helping them to finish 16-under-par at weekend’s end. While NU finished 12th, North Carolina captured the team title, dominating the event with a 54-under. The Tar Heels’ Sihan Sandhu led UNC to the team title with an individual crown at 15-under-par after beating Georgia Southern’s Thomas Horne to earn a trip to the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in Minnesota.
The host of elite programs proved to be too distant to catch for Northwestern, as No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Illinois all finished in the top-eight.
Svärd was Northwestern’s standout, finishing tied for 14th in the tournament at 9-under. His consistency stood out on both days, with the senior improving or holding steady with each card. Gazi finished at even-par for the tournament and tied for 50th after his closing surge, while Tseng (tied for 56th, 2-over) and Sullivan (tied for 60th, 3-over) rounded out the top half of the lineup. Holcombe finished tied for 62nd at 4-over.
Up next, Northwestern heads to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Collegiate on April 18-19, which will be its final regular season event before heading to the Big Ten Championships in Oregon.
