Nov. 1, 2011

Golfstat.com Live Scoring

Coach Goss Live Tweets (@NUGolf_Live)

SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Tough course conditions and setup wreaked havoc on a young Northwestern lineup Tuesday in the second round of the Gifford Collegiate, leaving the Wildcats in 10th position as a team after 36 holes of play.

The Gifford Collegiate consists of six-person lineups and five scorers for each team -- the same format used by Gifford host UCLA at the Pac-12 Championships. Typical collegiate events feature five-person lineups with the top four scorers for each school counting toward the team total.

Northwestern carded a 29-over 384 to give it a 36-hole total of 46-over 756, placing NU seven shots in front of 11th place Washington State and six strokes behind ninth place Coastal Carolina.

"Playing PGA TOUR hole locations in a tough wind is a great experience for college players," Goss tweeted pre-round Tuesday. "Part of the process of getting better." CordeValle hosted the PGA TOUR's Fall Series Frys.com Open in early October this year.

One prime example of the tough course setup Tuesday was the par-4 fifth hole, which played slightly uphill into the wind at a distance of 500 yards. Three Wildcats made bogey on the hole and senior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) was bitten for a double bogey by it, but sophomore John Callahan (Hinsdale, Ill./Benet Academy) hit driver, 3-wood to eight feet to make a birdie -- "should gain about 1.6 shots on the field" Goss tweeted about the score.

After entering Tuesday in eighth place, Chun found himself 3-over par for the second round after his tough fifth hole experience. He made five-straight pairs after the double bogey, then birdied the 434-yard par-4 11th hole to get back to 2-over on the day and even par for the tournament. Following a bogey at 15, Chun birdied the par-5 last for a 2-over 73 and an even-par 142 (69-73) for the tourney. He remained in the top-10 of the individual race in eighth place.

Sophomore Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) suffered a double bogey on the ninth hole to end his front nine with a 4-over 40, but he turned that around with a quick start to the back side. He followed two-straight pars with a birdie on the 230-yard par-3 12th hole, gave a stroke back on No. 13 but then made par the rest of the way for a 4-over 75. Perry's two stroke improvement over his Monday total left him at 10-over 152 (77-75) in 47th position.

Callahan weathered the tough conditions and pin placements well, making the turn at 2-over 38 following three bogeys to go along with his stellar birdie on the very difficult fifth hole. Three more bogeys on the back gave him a 5-over 76 and a 36-hole score of 11-over 153 (77-76), good for 54th place.

Senior Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) fired a 1-over 37 going out, steadying himself after a pair of early bogeys with a birdie on the short par-4 eighth hole. He began the back nine bogey-double bogey to quickly find himself 4-over on the day. Things did not get better for Chien, who ended up with a 9-over 80 and a 12-over 154 (74-80) after 36 holes of play. He is in 57th place.

Freshman Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) found himself 1-under par through three holes when he stuck a 195-yard 3-iron approach into the wind on the par-5 third hole, giving himself an easy birdie putt. Trouble was ahead, however, and he made the turn at 7-over par. Negri fought through a double bogey and two bogeys on the back nine with a pair of birdies for a 2-over 37 coming in, finishing the day with a 9-over par 80. He is in 71st place at 20-over 162 (82-80).

Freshman Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) was 4-over par through five holes Tuesday, but made par on the next four holes to make the turn still at 4-over. Three-straight bogeys to start the back nine, however, eventually led to an 11-over 82, placing him 64th overall at 15-over 157 (75-82).

The Gifford Collegiate continues with the final round Wednesday, Nov. 2. Live scoring is available from Golfstat.com while live tweets from the course courtesy of Goss can be found by following @NUGolf_Live.

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