Men’s Golf: 2024 Fall Preview

Can Northwestern repeat as Big Ten champions?

After an impressive campaign last season, capped by a 2024 Big Ten Championship, Northwestern’s men’s golf team will aim to carry their momentum into the fall portion of the year.

While the Wildcats lost two key players from last season in Chris Zhang and James Imai, head coach David Inglis still managed to retain a majority of his roster, including First-Team All-Big Ten selections Ethan Tseng and Daniel Svärd and Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree Cameron Adam.

From the start of the season, Inglis will need his “big three” to step up significantly as Northwestern opens in the highly competitive Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Washington, from September 7-8. The tournament features several teams that participated in the 2024 Division I Men’s Golf Championship, including Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Following their trip out west, Northwestern will return to Illinois to compete in another talent-packed event. The Wildcats have been selected to play in the Fighting Illini Invitational in Olympia Fields, Illinois, from September 20-22. The tournament will feature a strong field, including many of their competitors from the Sahalee Players Championship, as well as top teams like Tennessee, Texas, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Alabama and 2024 runner-up Florida State.

The ‘Cats will face some of the top players in the country, as the event is jam-packed with elite talent, including Florida State’s Luke Clanton, Texas Tech’s Calum Scott, Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays and Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan.

After two highly competitive tournaments on the road, the Wildcats will return home for their first match on familiar ground as they host the Windon Memorial Classic from September 29-30. The field will feature several familiar squads, including Arizona and Illinois, as well as the 2021 NCAA champions, Pepperdine. The ‘Cats will look to post a better result at the Windon Memorial Classic than last season, when Inglis’s team only managed a sixth-place finish.

In their next outing, Northwestern will have quite the trip ahead, as the ‘Cats were selected to participate in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate, taking place in St. Andrews, Scotland. The four-team field includes Howard, St. Andrews, and, once again, Arizona. The event, scheduled for October 14-16, will give Inglis’s team the opportunity to compete on the legendary Old Course and Jubilee Course in St. Andrews.

Following their trip to Scotland, the ‘Cats will return to the states as they are set to participate in The Clerico, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from October 28-29, hosted by Oral Roberts. Afterward, they will take an extended break until February, when Inglis’s team will kick off the spring portion of their season.