After placing fourth at the Windon Memorial Classic, Northwestern traveled to Vero Beach, Florida to compete in the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational. The 16-team field featured several strong programs, and the ‘Cats once again found themselves in contention, finishing in solo fourth.
Northwestern opened the tournament with an impressive 15-under team round to take the early lead. Daniel Svärd and Rowan Sullivan continued their excellent starts to the season, leading the way for NU. Svärd fired
a bogey-free 66, while Sullivan carded a 5-under 67 highlighted by three straight birdies on holes 16 through 18. The ‘Cats held a one-shot advantage after the first round and looked poised for another strong finish.
In round two, the ‘Cats continued their strong play and posted a 9-under team score. Svärd and Monty Holcombe led the way with matching 3-under rounds, while Sullivan and Jeremy Chen also finished under par with rounds of 70 and 71, respectively. Northwestern remained in contention, sitting just one shot back in second place after two rounds.
In the final round, Northwestern shot even-par. The team was in good position with a three-shot lead at 31-under through 12 holes but struggled on holes 13 through 16. That stretch proved costly, as the ‘Cats finished at 24-under in fourth place, four shots behind tournament winner Memphis. Chen led the team on the final day with a 1-under round, while Svärd and Holcombe each shot even-par. It wasn’t the finish they hoped for but still a strong result and another top-five performance.
The par-72, 7,401-yard course played just under par with an average of 71.75 over three rounds. The easiest round came on the first day, where the course averaged 71.35, and the toughest was the final day, which played at 72.48. 10 holes played over-par and eight played under. The easiest hole was the par-5 14th, which averaged 4.43, while the toughest was the par-3 8th at 3.33. Northwestern made the most birdies in the field with 74, seven more than the next highest team. The ‘Cats also ranked third in both par-4 and par-5 scoring with averages of 4.01 and 4.48 respectively.
Svärd led the way for the ‘Cats, finishing 9-under and tying for eighth. He carded rounds of 66, 69 and 72 across the three days. Svärd made 17 birdies, the fourth-most in the field, and ranked fifth in par-4 scoring average at 3.87. The Swedish native continued his strong start to the senior season with another top-10 finish.
Sullivan and Chen also delivered strong performances for NU. Sullivan finished 6-under in 16th, while Chen closed 5-under in 18th. Sullivan opened with his best round of the week, a 67 that included an eagle on the par-5 third. He also ranked eighth in par-4 scoring with a 3.90 average. Chen was steady throughout the event, posting rounds of 69, 71 and 71. He ranked ninth in par-3 scoring average at 3.00 and capped off a consistent and impressive performance.
Holcombe, Mark Gazi and Archie Finnie also competed for Northwestern. Holcombe played well across the three rounds, recording scores of 72, 69 and 72. He made nine birdies in round two and totaled 18 overall, the second-most in the field, to finish 31st. Gazi opened with two solid rounds of 71 and 72, making nine birdies over the tournament and tying for 75th. Finnie shot two rounds of 76 and placed 83rd.
Northwestern will return to action Oct. 27–28 at The Clerico in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the team will look to defend its title from last year. The event will feature a competitive field and be held at the historic Southern Hills Country Club, which most recently hosted the PGA Championship in 2022. The ‘Cats will aim to build on their momentum and close out their strong fall season in Tulsa.
