NIU men’s golf wrapped up the Gopher Invitational finishing 15th out of 15 teams. Sophomore Craig Long led the pack, finishing 7 over par and tying for 27th place.
“He’s (Long) made huge strides from freshman to sophomore year,” said NIU men’s golf head coach John Carlson. “He drilled the ball the best of our five players this week and put himself in position to have a great individual week.”
Despite a round 2 score of 79 biting Long, he logged 220 strokes across the 54 holes – five more than his personal best. Long scored his best score in the first round, shooting a 69, and exited the tournament with a score of 72 in round 3.
Long’s round 1 score of 69 was the Huskies’ best individual round of their season so far.
Across the tournament, NIU finished 59 over par, 11 strokes behind 14th place Georgia Southern University. The Huskies kicked off the tournament with a score of 302 in the first round, followed by a score of 312 in the second round. NIU rounded out the tournament with its best score, shooting 297 in the third round.
The 15th place finish marks back-to-back last place finishes for the Huskies.
“We’ve been plagued by inaccurate driving over the first two weeks,” Carlson said. “We have to be better in week three at Purdue.”
Finishing tied for 57th place, NIU’s second-best golfer was senior Felix Krammer. Krammer opened the tournament shooting a 75 in the first round and a 77 in the second round. Krammer left the tournament with a score of 75 in the third round.
Senior Ben Sluzas was the Huskies’ third-best golfer, notching a tie for 65th place. Shooting a 78 in the first round, Sluzas improved after each round. He shot a 77 in the second round and ended the tournament shooting a 74 in the third round.
The fourth golfer on the Huskies’ lineup was freshman Conner McCall, placing 75th. In his first collegiate tournament, McCall finished 23 over par. He shot an 81 in the first round, a 79 in the second round and a 76 in the third round.
Rounding out the Huskies lineup was freshman Beau Petersen, tying for 76th place. Petersen shot an 80 in each of the first two rounds and closed the tournament improving to a score of 79 in the third round.
UP NEXT
The Huskies’ next tournament is the Purdue Fall Invitational, hosted by Purdue University. The tournament is an all-day event stretching from Sunday, Sept. 22, through Monday, Sept. 23, at Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana.
