Off the heels of its best finish since May 2012, the men’s team is taking its game to the Windy City early next week, competing in the Northwestern Invitational at The Glen Club.
With a season-best fifth place finish at the NYX Hoosier Invitational, and three players placing in the top 20, the team looks poised to carry that vital momentum into an exceedingly more difficult course.
“Four of them played pretty well and they’ve been playing well this week too, in practice,” said head coach Bob Cooley. “I think they know they can (play well) now. They just have to go out there and do it.”
Last week, seniors Michael Lamping and Byron Firestone, as well as junior Connor Coldwater, all finished in a tie for 20th with an overall score of 219, six-over par. Throughout the three rounds, not one of them shot above a 74, three-over par.
Freshman Brad Burgess, who began first-round action with an eight-over 79, fired a two-under 69 in the second round, the best round of a Bobcat this season. Senior Brad Lucas returned for the first time since the fall and placed last for Ohio, shooting 82-87-84 for the tournament.
The invitational, which begins Monday, consists of a 14-team field. Two Big Ten schools, including host No. 35 Northwestern and No. 80 Ohio State, as well as fellow MAC foe Northern Illinois, will participate.
The Glen Club carries a 7,149 yardage, one of the longest courses the Bobcats have played this season. Myriad challenging shots make the course the No. 2 rated public course in Illinois, with many of those encounters coming around the severely undulated greens at times.
With wide fairways, accompanied by surrounding fescue, the Bobcats will worry less about hitting into trees, a problem Ohio faced last week, and more about avoiding hazards surrounding fairways and greens.
Putting also debilitated the Bobcats last week, Cooley said, due in part to the uneven surfaces and lack of touch around the putting surfaces.
“The only thing I know, from talking with other people, is that it’s a very difficult golf course,” Cooley said. “…I’m sure it’s a lot tougher than the [Indiana University] golf course.”
ch115710@ohiou.edu
