Northwestern faced tough conditions all week and finished tied for seventh at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational. The ‘Cats competed in a strong 15-team field that featured four top-50 programs.
Heavy rain and wind defined the opening round. Monty Holcombe led the way at 1-over with a birdie and 15 pars. Daniel Svärd at 3-over and Rowan Sullivan at 4-over added steady rounds as Northwestern closed the day in solo fourth at 14-over.
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In round two, NU posted its best score of the tournament at 9-over as a team. Holcombe matched his first round with another 1-over performance and sat in sixth place after two rounds. Jeremy Chen contributed a 2-over round highlighted by three birdies on holes 11 through 15. Northwestern remained in fourth place after the second round.
The final round proved the most challenging as the ‘Cats shot 21-over as a team. Svärd recorded the team’s low round at 4-over and opened with a birdie, underscoring the difficulty of the course. Northwestern ultimately finished tied for seventh after three rounds.
The course played extremely difficult all week, with no holes averaging under par and a scoring average of 76.71 on the par-71 layout across three rounds. The easiest hole was the par-5 ninth, which played to an average of 5.07, while the toughest was the par-4 18th at 4.52. The hole proved especially challenging, recording 27 double bogeys or worse compared to just 16 birdies across the 88-player field.
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Holcombe and Svärd led the way for NU, with Holcombe finishing 17th at 8-over and Svärd placing 22nd at 10-over. Holcombe posted the team’s two best rounds of the week with back-to-back 72s, highlighting the difficulty of the course. He excelled on par-3s with a 3.17 scoring average, ninth best in the field. Svärd recorded rounds of 74, 74 and 75, making six birdies over 54 holes. He performed best on par-5s with a scoring average of 4.78.
Sullivan and Ethan Tseng also contributed solid performances. Sullivan shot 75, 75 and 76, made four birdies and finished 30th. Tseng’s best round was a 74 in round two, helping him to a tie for 42nd.
Jeremy Chen and Mark Gazi rounded out the lineup. Chen’s strongest round came in the second round where he shot 2-over, including 1-under on the back nine, finishing in a tie for 60th. Gazi also found success in his second round, making three birdies and shooting 3-over. The sophomore placed in a tie for 74th.
Northwestern will return to action at the Big Ten Championships in Portland, Oregon, from May 1 to May 3. The team will look to put together a strong performance and push for an NCAA Tournament berth.
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