May 31, 2006

NCAA National Championships (Round One Results)
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NCAA National Championships (Round One Notes)
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SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Northwestern's men's golf team opened the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships with a 4-over 292. The 17th-seeded Wildcats, playing in their fifth Championships under head coach Pat Goss, are in a four-way tie for 16th place among 30 teams. NU earned its spot in the field with a second-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional Championships.

The 72-hole Championships are being hosted by the University of Portland on the 7,630-yard, par-72 Crossriver golf course in Sunriver, Ore.

17th-ranked NU is only one stroke behind 15th-place Texas A&M and 10 strokes out of the top five.

The Wildcats are tied with BYU, Lamar and South Carolina. Georgia, which is ranked as the number one team in the country by two coaches' polls and the two computer rankings, is a stroke back at 5-over.

Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland), who is playing in his last collegiate event, led the Wildcats on day one with an opening round 1-under 71. Dougherty, the 2005 U.S. Amateur runner-up and NU's lone senior, is in a tie for 28th out of 156 players.

Dougherty trails first-round leader Kyle Reifers of Wake Forest by six strokes. Reifers made eight birdies and just one bogey en route to a 7-under 65.

Junior Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) drained five birdies in firing an even-par 72. The Big Ten individual champion shot 36 on the front nine and 36 on the back. He is tied for 51st.

Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) birdied four holes on the front nine and made the turn at 3-under. The sophomore finished at 2-over 74 and is tied for 83rd.

Junior David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union), NU's scoring average leader, and sophomore Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) are a stroke behind Moore at 3-over. They are tied for 99th place.

Defending individual NCAA champion James Lepp is at 3-under after one round.

Lepp's Washington Huskies, which finished in third a year ago, are tied for third place at 7-under 281. Wake Forest, which won the NCAA East Regional for the second straight year, blistered the course in the opening round for an 11-under 277 and is the first-round leader. UCLA is second at 8-under.

All teams and individuals are scheduled to play 18 more holes on Thursday and Friday. After 54 holes of play, the field will be cut to the low 15 teams and low six individuals not on those teams. The final round is set for Saturday.

NU, making its 22nd appearance at the Championships and first since 2000, is slated to begin its second round on Thursday at 2:42 p.m. CDT. The 'Cats will play the back nine first, starting with hole No. 10.

Live scoring for the event is available at NCAA Men's Golf National Championships.