Northwestern delivered another strong performance, securing back-to-back podium finishes heading into the postseason with confidence.
Following a third-place finish at The Goodwin in California last week, Northwestern closed out its regular season at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in Charlottesville, Va.. The 12-team field featured strong competition, including No. 11 Florida State and No. 13 Virginia. The Wildcats delivered another consistent performance, securing a third-place finish for the second consecutive tournament.
The ‘Cats opened with a 6-under team score in round one, placing them in second. Archie Finnie led the way with a 4-under round that included six birdies, while Cameron Adam added a 2-under 68. Despite trailing Florida State by 11 strokes, NU was off to a promising start.
In round two, Northwestern stayed sharp with a 4-under showing. Daniel Svärd paced the team at 3-under, and both Adam and Niall Shiels-Donegan carded 2-under rounds. All three climbed the individual leaderboard—Adam sat in sixth, Svärd in 10th and Shiels-Donegan in 16th. The team remained in third, just one shot behind No. 13 Virginia, with a chance to move up in the final round.
Challenging weather — 35 mph wind gusts and intermittent rain — defined the final round. Northwestern battled through to post a 10-over score and held onto third place. Shiels-Donegan was a standout, firing an even-par round in tough conditions. His performance was one of the best of the day and showcased the team’s gritty effort. With back-to-back podium finishes, the Wildcats carry strong momentum into the postseason.
The course played very differently in the final round compared to the first two rounds. In round one, the field averaged 71.56 on the par-72 layout, followed by 72.64 in round two. But as conditions worsened with wind and rain, the final round scoring average rose to 75.86—nearly four shots over par. The par-4 18th proved to be the toughest hole of the week, playing to an average of 4.48. As a team, Northwestern ranked third in par-3 scoring (3.19), fourth in par-4 scoring (4.15) and fifth in par-5 scoring (4.80), reflecting a strong all-around performance.
Niall Shiels-Donegan led the way individually, finishing in a tie for sixth at 2-under. He ranked third in par-3 scoring average at 2.93 and was impressively consistent, carding rounds of 71, 69 and 71. His strong showing provides a solid foundation heading into the postseason.
Cameron Adam and Mark Gazi also delivered strong tournaments. Adam tied for eighth, led the field in par-4 scoring at 2-under and made 10 birdies across the three rounds. Gazi tied for 25th, opening with a 1-under round and showing promise throughout.
Daniel Svärd, Archie Finnie and Ethan Tseng rounded out the team’s effort. Svärd was in great form early with rounds of 71 and 68 but slipped to 39th after a tough finish. Finnie’s best round came on day one with a 4-under score. Tseng posted rounds of 74, 74 and 75, finishing in 51st.
With back-to-back top-three finishes, the ‘Cats head into the Big Ten Championships in Maryland carrying strong momentum.