Women’s golf finished third while the men placed in 13th.
It was a tale of two teams as Northwestern golf kicked off its 2024 season. The women’s team impressed with a third-place finish in Franklin, Tennessee, while the men’s team faced a challenging field at Olympia Fields, finishing 13th.
Women’s Golf
To kickoff the season, Northwestern traveled to Tennessee for the Mason Rudolph Championship. The ‘Cats were competing in a stacked 17-team field with seven of the top-15 teams in the country. NU, currently ranked 10th in the country, was formidable and began the year with an impressive top-3 finish.
Northwestern started out strong with a 10-under round of 283 on day one. Four ‘Cats shot at least 2-under par with reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Ashley Yun, and junior Dianna Lee leading the way at 3-under. Senior Lauryn Nguyen and first-year Elise Lee rounded out the Northwestern top four with rounds of 70. After the first round, Northwestern was in solid position: solo fifth.
On day two, NU posted a 5-under round of 283. Nguyen led the ‘Cats with a 68, making six birdies in her first nine holes. Yun and Elise Lee both carded rounds of 1-under, each rolling in three birdies. While it wasn’t as good of a cumulative score overall, the course played much tougher in the second round, and Northwestern moved up into solo third. The team was in striking distance of first-place Texas but had to make a big move to catch the Longhorns.
In the third round, the ‘Cats shot 279, good for 9-under. Four players shot under-par once again, Nguyen, Yun, Dianna Lee and Elise Lee. Nguyen and Yun both shot 3-under, and NU finished in solo third, one shot behind South Carolina and seven behind Texas. The Gamecocks made a late run to nab solo second, but it was a great start the Northwestern’s season.
Individually, Lauryn Nguyen led the ‘Cats at 9-under par. The senior was very consistent, making 11 birdies, a tournament-leading 42 pars and only one double bogey. Nguyen didn’t make a bogey all week. After carding a bogey-free opening round of 70, Nguyen rattled off four birdies in a row from holes 2-5 in round two. She continued her hot play with birdies at 7 and 9, shooting 4-under on the front-nine and 68 overall. On her final day, Nguyen made three birdies and concluded the tournament tied for ninth.
Ashley Yun, Elise Lee and Dianna Lee also had great tournaments, finishing at 7-under, 4-under and 4-under respectively. Yun was a birdie machine, making 13 throughout the tournament. She was consistent throughout the three rounds, carding rounds of 69, 71 and 69. Yun’s quality play resulted in a tie for 12th result. Elise Lee impressed as well in her first tournament at NU. The 14th ranked recruit in the Class of 2028 had rounds of 70, 71 and 71. Lee birdied the par-5 7th all three days and finished in 22nd. She has a bright future at Northwestern and will look to build on this start throughout the season. Dianna Lee also finished in 22nd, playing especially well on the par-4s. Lee had the third best scoring avearge on par-4s at 3.80. The junior made three birdies each round and played a big part in NU’s third-place finish.
First-year Hsin Tai Lin and junior Jiayi Wang also competed in the tournament. Tai Lin’s best round came on the second day, where she made four birdies for a round of 73. Wang closed with her best round, signing for 75 and birdieing the difficult par-4 9th. Tai Lin closed 75th and Wang placed 82nd.
The ‘Cats will be back in action next week for the Windy City Collegiate Classic. The tournament will be held in Wilmette, IL on September 30th and October 1st. Lauryn Nguyen will look to defend her individual title, and Northwestern will hope to build on a great start to the season.
Men’s Golf
After an 11th place finish at the Sahalee Players Championship, Northwestern made the quick trip to Olympia Fields for the Fighting Illini Invitational. Olympia Fields, the host of the 2023 BMW Championship, posed a strong test as only four of the 15 teams finished under-par. NU competed in loaded field with seven of the top-13 teams in the country competing and 10 of the top-20. NU started strong before fading and finishing in 13th.
In round one, the ‘Cats made their presence felt with a 3-over round of 283. Junior Daniel Svärd paced Northwestern, posting 2-under with five birdies. Graduate transfer Aidan Kramer also played well, shooting even-par 70. NU was in solid position, solo eighth, and while the team was 10 shots back of Arizona State, they were only four behind second-place.
Northwestern was forced to play two rounds on Saturday, Sept. 21 because of the Sunday weather. In its second round, NU shot a 5-over 285. Svärd continued his terrific play with a bogey-free round of 66. The junior’s great play put him in position for the individual title. Senior Cameron Adam had a solid day as well, making 15 pars and a birdie to shoot a 71. The ‘Cats had played good golf the first two rounds and wanted to sustain that throughout the tournament.
In round three, NU shot 10-over as a team. Svärd once again led Northwestern with a 1-under round of 69. Sophomore Niall Shiels-Donegan also had a decent day, carding a 72. It wasn’t the final round the ‘Cats were looking for though, and the team finished in solo 13th.
Individually, Svärd’s stellar play earned him a tie for third place at 7-under for the tournament. He finished ahead of the world’s top-ranked amateur, Luke Clanton and several other elite players. Svärd finished fourth in total birdies with 12 and was terrific across the board. He was third in par-4 scoring average at 3.89, eighth in par-5 scoring average at 4.50 and 12th in par-3 scoring average at 3.00. The Sweden native played consistent golf throughout, posting rounds of 68, 66 and 69. Svärd finished the tournament at 7-under par, and these three rounds should give him a lot of confidence for the season ahead.
While Svärd was the lone player to shoot under-par for NU, Cameron Adam and Niall Shiels-Donegan had solid moments throughout the tournament as both finished in the top-60. Adam’s best round came during his second 18 holes where the senior shot 1-over. He made four birdies in the 54 holes and was best on par-5s, posting the 16th-best scoring avareage on those holes with 4.67. Shiels-Donegan had two rounds of 72 and played decent golf during the two days. He rolled in four birdies and will look to continue his improvement in year two.
Aidan Kramer and junior Akshay Anand also competed in the tournament. Kramer began the 54 holes with a terrific round of 70. He converted two birdies, both on par-5s. The former Georgia Tech golfer played fabulous on the par-5s. He was tied for eighth in scoring average at 4.50 and finished the tournament in 64th. Anand’s best round came in the first round where he shot 3-over 73. Despite a tough finish, the junior will look to bounce back after his strong showing at the Sahalee Players Championship earlier in the season.
Next up for the men’s team is the Windon Memorial Classic, which will be held at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, IL, from September 29-30. Northwestern will look to regroup and build on Svärd’s standout performance. Both the men’s and women’s teams will also compete in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate from October 14-16 at the legendary Old Course in Scotland in an event that will be televised on Golf Channel.