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Men’s golf closes with best round at Erin Hills

October 9, 2013
Liam White

Liam White

Junior Liam White (Waukegan, Ill./Carmel Catholic/Indian Hills CC) and freshman Jake Curwin (Fairbault, Minn./Shattuck St. Mary’s) each carded a 75 Tuesday as the Northern Illinois men’s golf team shot a team total of 305, its best round of the tournament in the final round of the Erin Hills Intercollegiate.

The Huskies tied DePaul for 13th place in the team standings.

Stanford claimed the tournament title with a 54-hole total of 851, 13-under par. Patrick Rodgers of the Cardinal fired a final round 69 to claim individual medalist honors with a three-round total of 209, seven-under par.

“This round was the best 13 holes we have played all year,” said NIU head coach Tom Porten. “We are playing a U.S. Open venue, with challenging hole locations and a solid setup. We played the back nine, which was our first nine, very well and got through the next three or four holes before we started giving strokes back.

“We didn’t capitalize on our opportunity right at the end of the round when we had a chance to shoot 296 or 297. We keep moving further into rounds where we are getting closer and closer to playing team golf and that is encouraging for a young team.”

Jake Curwin

Jake Curwin

White’s final round 75, which included a trio of birdies, helped him finish the tournament in a tie for 38th, his best finish as a Huskie. Curwin’s third round 75, which also included a trio of birdies, is the best round of his career at NIU.

“Liam (White) has really learned a lot and applied a much better game plan to this tournament,” Porten. “We are starting to see a little of what he is capable of, even without a hot putter. He didn’t play great, but he hit the ball well enough to play three rounds of par or better.

“I was with Jake (Curwin) all day today, he hit 15 greens and shot three-over par with three three-putts. Tee-to-green he was great and every time he had a three-putt he bounced back and made birdie. He’s not playing as scared and tentative as he was earlier when he would get a little balky with the putter and go into a bit of a shell.”

Senior Shawn Foley (Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha North) closed with his best round of the tournament, carding a final round 77. Freshman Pierrick Fillon (Voreppe, France/Lycee Pierre Beghin) finish a shot behind Foley in the final round and had the second-best individual finish for the Huskies.

“Shawn (Foley) played really well early in the round,” Porten said. “He had a little bit of a hiccup in the middle of the round but finished he played his last three holes in one-under to help us catch DePaul and get a little closer to Green Bay.”

Northern Illinois will close the fall portion of its 2013-14 schedule at the Pinetree Intercollegiate in Kennesaw, Ga., Monday, Oct. 21 and Tuesday, Oct. 22.

For more information on NIU men’s golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.