NIU men’s golf took first place at the Badger Invitational in a field of 16 teams. Senior Felix Krammer keyed the charge, finishing tied for second place.
“We outperformed our expectations going into the event, which is always a coach’s dream,” said NIU men’s golf head coach John Carlson. “Our guys had put in the work required to play well. Having the first three weeks that we had, it was a momentum shift towards the positive to the rest of the fall. All credit to our guys.”
Krammer had a career weekend, matching NIU’s 18-hole scoring record while setting his career best round score. Krammer’s first round score of 64 earned him the nod and left him in first place after day one.
In the second round, Krammer posted a score of 72, leaving him tied for second place going into the final frame. Krammer held firm in the third round, exiting the tournament with a score of 73.
“He’s (Krammer’s) really been focused on kind of the starting line, and he drove the ball well because of that this week,” Carlson said. “His iron play was much better than it had been the first three weeks and that’s what helped him, you know, finish second.”
As a team, NIU produced its two best rounds of the season this weekend. The Huskies’ score of 283 in the first round and 280 in the second round bests their previous low – a score of 289 in the second round of the Purdue Fall Invitational.
The Huskies had two golfers finish within the top-5 individually, as senior Ben Sluzas tied for fifth-place. Including Krammer and Sluzas, NIU had four golfers fall within the top-15.
“Our team at NIU has a veteran presence, it has leadership,” Carlson said. “The decisions that they (the team) made this week at our event in Wisconsin are going to be consistent going forward, we’re going to be able to be reliable and repeatable.”
Including Krammer, the Huskies had three golfers set career lows and one golfer set a season high.
Graduate student Patrick Bruminhent set his career best in the first round, shooting a 69. Freshman Patrick Raupp set his career best in the second round, posting a score of 67. Sluzas set his season high in the second round, shooting a 69.
With the top-5 finish, Sluzas was NIU’s second golfer. Sluzas got off to a slow start, leaving the first round shooting a 74. Sluzas rounded out the tournament matching his season high score of 69 in the third round.
Raupp was the Huskies’ third golfer, tying for 12th place. He shot a 72 in the first round before setting his career high of 67 in the second round. He left the tournament with a score of 76 in the third round.
Although he competed as an individual, Bruminhent finished as the Huskies’ fourth golfer, tying for 15th place. After setting his career low score in the first round, Bruminhent shot a 71 in the second round. He rounded out the tournament shooting a 76.
“He (Bruminhent) truly believed this week that he would be able to put himself in position to have a lot of birdie putts and to help the team out, which he certainly did in all three rounds,” Carlson said.
Freshman Conner McCall was fourth within the Huskies’ lineup, finishing tied for 40th place. McCall shot a 73 in the first round, but a score of 77 in the second round held him back. He exited the tournament with a score of 74 in the third round.
Rounding out NIU’s lineup, sophomore Craig Long finished tied for 59th place. Long opened the tournament with a score of 76 in the first round, followed by a score of 72 in the second round. He left the tournament with a score of 79 in the second round.
UP NEXT
The Huskies’ next tournament is the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational, an all-day event that begins Oct. 13 and wraps up Oct. 14. The event is held at the Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Florida.
