NIU men’s golf wrapped up its first tournament of the season, finishing 12th out of 12 teams at the Island Resort Intercollegiate. In his collegiate debut, freshman Beau Petersen led the pack with a 38th place finish.
“He showed patience; he also showed his maturity and that he was able to overcome some adversity early in the rounds,” said NIU men’s golf head coach John Carlson. “His teammates trust him, his coaching staff trusts him, and he really showed – coming off a good summer – how much he’s going to mean as a freshman to our program.”
Petersen opened the tournament shooting a 78 in the first round, his worst of the three. Petersen found his tournament-low score of 71 in the second round and completed the tournament shooting a 73 in the third round.
The Huskies accounted for 894 strokes across the tournament, four strokes behind 11th place North Texas University. NIU’s best round was the second, shooting 296. The Huskies shot a 299 in both the first and third rounds.
Senior Ben Sluzas was the Huskies’ second-best golfer, tying for 49th place. Sluzas jumped into the top five after recording a score of 70 in the first round but was halted by a score of 78 in the second round. Sluzas rounded out the tournament with a score of 76 in the third round.
One stroke behind Sluzas was sophomore Craig Long, finishing tied for 52nd place. Long shot a 77 in the first round but followed up with a 73 in the second round – his best of the tournament. Long left the tournament with a score of 75 in the third round.
Senior Felix Krammer logged the Huskies’ fourth-best performance after tying for 56th place. Krammer opened the tournament with a score of 76 in the first round and finished by scoring 75 in each of the last two rounds.
Although he competed as an individual, freshman Jack Mulligan tied for 63rd place and was NIU’s fifth-best golfer. Mulligan shot a 76 in the first round but was plagued by a score of 80 in the second round. Mulligan exited the tournament with a score of 75 in the third round.
Finishing in 69th place, senior Patrick Bruminhent rounded out the Huskies’ lineup. Bruminhent opened the tournament with a score of 76 in the first round, but he shot a 77 in the second round and 80 in the third round.
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Carlson shared how NIU can prepare to get back on track before its next tournament.
“We need to drive the ball so much better at Windsong than we did at Sage Run,” Carlson said. “Our approach shots need to be consistently to the correct side of the hole location, giving us a whole lot more chances on the greens.”
The Huskies’ next tournament is the Gopher Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The tournament is an all-day event stretching from Sunday until Monday at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota.
