After a disappointing last place finish at this past weekend’s Island Resort Intercollegiate, the NIU men’s golf team has things to work on. Despite the faulty performance, there was an upside. 

Here are three takeaways from the Huskies’ first tournament of the season.

UNDERWHELMING UPPERCLASSMEN

Among the Huskies’ five-golfer rotation this weekend, three are seniors – Ben Sluzas, Felix Krammer and Patrick Bruminhent. Each of the three seniors finished underwhelmingly, posting lackluster scores. 

Sluzas – typically NIU’s lead golfer – struggled after an efficient first round score of 70. Unlike him, Sluzas logged scores of 78 in the second round and 76 in the third round, tying for 49th place.

If Sluzas came in 49th place last season, it would have been his third-worst placement of the year. 

Krammer tied for 56th place, shooting a 76 in the first round followed by a score of 75 in each the second and third rounds. Krammer was NIU’s second-leading golfer last season, averaging 72.88 strokes each round. 

For Bruminhent, the Island Resort Intercollegiate marked his first time within the Huskies’ starting five. Bruminhent performed the worst on the team this weekend, placing 69th. 

IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS 

The seniors were outshined by their freshman counterparts Beau Petersen and Jack Mulligan. Petersen led all NIU golfers, finishing tied for 38th place in his collegiate debut. 

Despite a poor score of 78 in the first round, Petersen showed out in the last two rounds. Petersen posted a score of 71 in the second round and 73 in the third round, cementing his spot in the lineup. 

Mulligan tied for 63rd place. Although the placement isn’t necessarily impressive, he competed as an individual and still managed to perform better than Bruminhent. 

Outside of his second round score of 80, Mulligan showed flashes of his potential to be a permanent member of the starting lineup. Mulligan posted a score of 76 in the first round and 75 in the second round, which is impressive for his first tournament. 

INCONSISTENCY 

The Island Resort Intercollegiate was a prime example of the Huskies’ inconsistency. NIU is a well-rounded program with a winning history – 2023 MAC Champions – but struggles at times with consistency. 

The Huskies tend to have one bad round that ends up holding them back. 

For example, Sluzas opened the tournament with a score of 70 in the first round, granting him a top-five placement at the start of the tournament, before adding eight strokes in the next round. 

Even though he finished as the Huskies’ best golfer, Petersen also struggled with consistency at the Island Resort Intercollegiate. If Petersen had shot a 74 in the first round instead of a 78, he would have placed inside the top 25. 

Mulligan was another example of inconsistency, with his second round holding him back from a higher placement. Mulligan was four over par in the first round and three over par in the third round, but in the third round was eight over par. 

UP NEXT 

NIU’s 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. Live scoring will be available through Scoreboard.