While it wasn’t the week they had hoped for, there were still bright spots for the Wildcats.
Following a third-place finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, the ’Cats entered postseason play and the Big Ten Championships with momentum. The team was looking to defend both the team and individual titles, having captured them a season ago — their first team championship since 2006, with Daniel Svärd claiming his second straight individual title. The 18-team field was stacked with talent, led by No. 12 UCLA and No. 13 Illinois. Ranked No. 27 nationally, the ’Cats set their sights on another strong showing. But over three tough days, NU finished in solo 12th.
Northwestern got off to a disappointing start, shooting 4-over in the opening round and sitting in 11th place. Niall Shiels-Donegan led the way, posting the team’s only under-par round with a 1-under 69 that featured five birdies. With Illinois already 14 shots ahead, the ’Cats needed a big turnaround to stay in contention.
Unfortunately, round two didn’t bring the bounce-back the ’Cats were hoping for. The team shot 8-over as a group, and while no player finished under par, there were bright spots. Cameron Adam delivered a steady 71, and Svärd followed closely with a 72 on the challenging par-70 layout. Despite slipping to solo 13th, the ’Cats remained focused on finishing the tournament with a strong closing round.
The final round proved to be the toughest test of the week, with steady winds of 15–20 mph and gusts topping 30 mph. Northwestern battled the conditions to post a 16-over team score — the eighth-best round of the day among the 18-team field. Svärd led the way for the ‘Cats, firing a 1-under 69, one of just four under-par rounds recorded among the 93 players in the field. Northwestern finished solo 12th at 28-over, falling short of the title defense they had hoped for.
The course played increasingly difficult as the tournament progressed. While the average score was 71.62 and 71.76 on the first two days, it soared to 75.43 on the final day as winds stiffened and greens firmed up. Of the 18 holes, 15 were played over par for the week, with the 230-yard 15th hole ranking as the toughest at 3.48. The two par-5s, the 4th and 12th, provided the best scoring opportunities, each playing about a quarter stroke under par. Overall, the ‘Cats ranked 10th in par-3 scoring (3.30 average) and recorded the fifth most birdies in the field with 36.
Svärd led the way for Northwestern, carding rounds of 73, 72 and 69. His final round included five birdies and vaulted him 39 spots up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 19th at 4-over. Svärd ranked 10th in the field in par-3 scoring (3.08 average) and tied for third in birdies made with 11.
Shiels-Donegan and Ethan Tseng turned in solid performances as well, finishing in ties for 32nd and 46th, respectively. Shiels-Donegan opened the event with a 1-under 69 and closed with rounds of 75 and 74. He excelled on the par-5s, posting a 4.33 scoring average, sixth-best in the field. Tseng was consistent with rounds of 71, 73 and 76, ranking 19th in par-3 scoring and finishing at 10-over for the week.
Adam and Archie Finnie rounded out the Northwestern lineup. Adam opened strongly with back-to-back 1-over rounds and made five birdies across the first two days. However, he struggled in the final round and finished tied for 65th. Finnie posted his best score in round two with an even-par 72 and finished tied for 83rd.
Northwestern now turns its attention to the NCAA Regionals, scheduled for May 12–14. The ‘Cats will find out their regional destination during the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship Selection Show, airing Wednesday, April 13 at 12 p.m. CST on Golf Channel. The team is focused on sharpening its play and making a strong postseason push.