DeKALB – NIU men’s golf finished tied for sixth place at its second tournament of the fall season at the VCU Shootout. Graduate student Zach Place and junior Ben Sluzas led the Huskies, both finishing within the top 10. 

NIU opened the tournament shooting a 285 in Round 1, but improved to a score of 282 in the second round. The Huskies finished the third round with a 278, the team’s fourth-lowest round score since 2000, according to an NIU Athletics press release. 

The Huskies finished tied with the University of Richmond at 845 strokes. 

Sluzas led the way for the Huskies, finishing tied for eighth place. Sluzas started the tournament shooting a 69 in the first round and followed it up with a score of 72. Sluzas found his best score of the tournament in the third round, shooting a 66.

With a score of 207 through three rounds, Sluzas set his 54-hole career best score.

Place wasn’t far behind Sluzas, finishing tied for 10th place. Place started slow with a 73 in the first round, but shot his career-low 66 in the second round. Place rounded out the tournament shooting a 69 in the final round. 

Junior Felix Krammer finished the tournament tied for 33rd place, improving in each round. In the first round, Krammer shot a 73, followed by a 72 in the second round. His best score came in the third round, shooting a 69. 

Graduate student Josh Kirkham finished as NIU’s fourth golfer, finishing the tournament with a score of 216 and tying for 44th place. Kirkham opened the tournament with a score of 70, but shot a 72 in the second round and a 74 in the third round. 

Finishing tied for 59th place, sophomore Ian Bruchhauser shot a 220. Bruchhauser finished the first and second round with a score of 73, rounding out the tournament shooting a 74 in the third round. 

UP NEXT

NIU’s next tournament is the Badger Invitational – an all day event that starts Oct. 1 and ends Oct. 3 at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin. Live stats for the tournament will be available on GolfStat.