The Windy City held true to its name Monday afternoon, as gusts reached up to 20 mph at the Kemper Sports Intercollegiate.
The Ohio men’s team finished in seventh place after the first day of play. Junior Connor Coldwater finished with two rounds of two-over 74, the lowest of any Bobcat.
Seniors Byron Firestone and Michael Lamping finished one stroke behind him.
Shooting less than two-over on each nine, Coldwater limited his mistakes, scoring no higher than bogey. After going bogey-bogey on the third and fourth holes in his first round, he followed with a birdie on the fifth and pared all but one of his remaining holes. In the second round, he had five bogies, but negated some of those strokes with three birdies.
Lamping started his first round on the par-4 13th, with a birdie. He would finish his first nine holes at one-under, but after two strings of three consecutive bogies later in the round, he wound up shooting 75, three-over par.
Firestone remained consistent all day, making 27 pars, five bogies, and three birdies, but a costly triple-bogey during the first round on the par-5 18th plagued Firestone from taking advantage of the above-average weather conditions. He would mirror Lamping’s first two rounds, going 75-74, five-over total.
Freshman Brad Burgess and sophomore Andrew Mlynarski rounded out the Bobcat roster, shooting 79 and 77, respectively, in the first round. Yet, each shot 81, nine-over par, in the second round. Burgess undoubtedly had the most colorful scorecard for Ohio on the day, racking in five birdies, 14 bogies, two double-bogies, and one triple-bogey.
Mlynarski had limited blunders in the morning round, bogeying three holes and double-bogeying the par-4 fourth, a hole the team shot eight-over on the day. He would make two double-bogies in the second round.
Host Northwestern leads the field by six shots (567), with fellow Big Ten school, Ohio State (573), in second. Ohio (604) was in sole possession of fifth after the first round of play, but an eighth-place finish in the second round pushed them back two spots overall.
ch115710@ohiou.edu
