Northwestern opened postseason play with a tie for ninth place at the Big Ten Championships. The 18-team field was strong with six top-50 teams competing.
In the first round, Jeremy Chen led the way with a 3-under performance that included four birdies, including back-to-back birdies on holes 17 and 18. Ethan Tseng also delivered a solid round at 1-over with three birdies. The team sat in fifth place at 5-over after the opening 18 holes.
On day two, the ‘Cats shot 12-over as a team. Rowan Sullivan
posted the best round for Northwestern, recording seven birdies on his way to an even-par 70. He made four birdies over his final seven holes. The team dropped to 12th place and needed a strong final round to climb the leaderboard.
In the final round, Northwestern delivered its best team score at 1-over to finish tied for ninth. Daniel Svärd turned in a standout performance with a 5-under round, the lowest score of the day and the tournament. He made six birdies and just one bogey. The Wildcats also excelled on the par-5 18th hole, where four players made birdies and Sullivan added an eagle.
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon, played difficult throughout the event. Despite minimal wind, the par-70 course averaged 72.49. The second round was the easiest at 72.04 while the opening round was the toughest at 73.23. Only three holes played under par for the week, with the par-5 18th as the easiest at 4.80. The most difficult hole was the par-3 fifth, which averaged 3.42. Northwestern ranked fifth in par-5 scoring with a 4.82 average and recorded 45 birdies, the sixth most in the field.
Svärd delivered Northwestern’s top individual performance, closing with a 5-under round after back-to-back 73s. The senior and two-time Big Ten individual champion made 10 birdies during the tournament, tied for 24th most in the field, and finished in 14th place.
Chen, Tseng and Sullivan each turned in steady performances. Chen opened with a 67 and made 12 birdies across the week, including nine on the back nine, to finish tied for 29th. Tseng posted rounds of 71, 74 and 71 to place tied for 34th, making three birdies in each round and playing the back nine at even par for the tournament. Sullivan recorded rounds of 74, 70 and 74, tallying 10 birdies and one eagle. Despite a tough closing stretch, he finished tied for 47th.
Monty Holcombe and Mark Gazi also saw action for Northwestern. Holcombe played the first two rounds and shot his best score in round two with a 75, highlighted by birdies on the par-3 12th and par-5 18th. Gazi competed in the final round and shot 2-over, making birdies on holes 17 and 18 to finish with a 72.
Northwestern will learn its NCAA Regional destination tomorrow when the selection show airs on Golf Channel at 1 p.m. CT. The team will compete on May 18-20 and look to carry momentum from its final round.
