May 8, 2004

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Heading into this year's Big Ten Men's Golf Championships, the Wildcats' goal was to get three players in the individual top 10. If they could accomplish that, they felt they would have a shot to contend for the Big Ten title.

Well, after the first two rounds, Northwestern has two golfers in the top 10 -- Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) and T.C. Ford (Covington, La./Mandeville). But as a team, the Wildcats are tied for seventh place with Michigan State. Ohio State, which was paced by a sensational performance by senior Kevin Hall, leads the tournament with a 10-under 558, and is eight strokes ahead of two-time defending champion Minnesota. The Wildcats are 12-over (292-288=580).

"We're going to have to dig deep and have a strong round on Sunday if we wish to climb in this tournament," said Pat Goss. "I was glad to see T.C. respond with some of his best golf of the year."

Dougherty and Ford both finished the day with even-par 142's. Dougherty had rounds of 73 and 69, while Ford countered with a 72 and a 70.

Northwestern's Tom Johnson (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) shot back-to-back 73's and is 4-over (146) and sitting in 24th place.

Freshman David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) is in 42nd place (74-76=150) and senior Casey Strunk (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird) is 50th at 13-over (76-79=155).

Hall, who is deaf, fired an 11-under 131 (66-65), which included a 7-under 29 on the front nine of his second round. His score fell one stroke of the Big Ten tournament record for 36-hole scores.

Live stats and latest results are available for the tournament by linking to 2004 Big Ten Championships. Other tournament information can be found at Michigan Wolverines and Big Ten Men's Golf Championships.