Nov. 6, 2006

SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Northwestern's 36th-ranked men's golf team is proving it can play against the best collegiate teams in the nation, as it sits in a tie for fifth at the CordeValle Collegiate.

With two or three holes left in the second round for all five Wildcats, play was suspended due to darkness. After Monday the 'Cats are tied with sixth-ranked USC for fifth, 13 shots behind tournament leader Stanford.

The 'Cats trail eighth-ranked Lamar by five shots, 50th-ranked Arizona by three and fourth-ranked Coastal Carolina by two. Both Arizona and Coastal Carolina have finished their second rounds.

The Wildcats and Trojans are four shots clear of seventh-place Arkansas.

After hovering around even par for the majority of the first round, a pair of Wildcats caught fire at the conclusion of the round to propel the 'Cats into fourth place with a 6-under 282 in round one.

Sitting at 1-under par with seven holes to play, junior Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) birdied five of his last seven holes to shoot a 6-under 66, which was good enough for second place individually after the first round. Doyle made eight birdies in his opening round.

Not to be outdone, David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) shot 5-under (3 birdies and 1 eagle) for his last four holes to finish round one with a 2-under 70. The Wildcat senior made seven birdies and an eagle in his opening round.

So far, the second 18 holes have been a more steady and solid round for the 'Cats, as they are 3-under through at least 15 holes. Doyle is 2-under for the round, 8-under overall, and still in second place, one shot behind Stanford's Zack Miller.

Senior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) is 2-under through 15 holes in his second round and 2-under overall, and sits in a tie for 16th after Monday. Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) is also under par in his second round and is tied for 47th at 1-over after Monday.

Merkow is at even and tied for 33rd, while Jonathan Bowers (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) is tied for 77th.

The second round will be completed on Tuesday beginning with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Central time. The third and final round of the 54-hole event begins at 10:30 a.m. CT with a shotgun start.

Live stats for the CordeValle Collegiate can be found at CordeValle Collegiate.