Saby leads Northwestern to 2016 UMAC Men's Golf Championship
ALEXANDRIA, Minn.---After two days of holding a double-digit lead over the field of men’s teams at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Golf Championship, the University of Northwestern used a final day score of 296 Saturday to capture the conference title and earn at trip to the NCAA Championships in the spring.
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Day Three Results |
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Behind the solid play of individual medalist Mac Saby, the Eagles turned in a three-day score of 925 (+61) that was 35 strokes better than runner-up the College of St. Scholastica. Heading into day three, the Eagles held just a 13-stroke lead over the Saints but made up ground with their top-four players shooting sub-80 rounds Saturday.
With the win, the Eagles earned the UMAC's automatic qualifying bid to the national tournament which is a first in program history for Northwestern.
Saby – who entered the final round tied for first – made the most of better weather Saturday turning in the lone score below par of the entire tournament with a round of 67 (-5) to win the individual title. The junior completed the three days with a score of 221 (+5).
Northwestern’s Caleb Johnson took the runner up spot after shooting the second lowest round of the day with a score of 74 (+2). The sophomore ended just eight strokes behind Saby with a score of 229 (+13).
Nick Mahowald carded two rounds of 77 (+5) for the Eagles to place in a tie for fourth with a 233(+17) to help the Eagles to victory. Mike Vowels rounded out the Eagles’ scoring with a three-day total of 247 (+31) to place in the top 20 and seal the win for Northwestern.
Tyler Smith of the University of Wisconsin-Superior also tallied a round of 74 (+2) Saturday to help the Yellowjackets move back into third place with a team score of 978 (+114). They narrowly edged out Northland by two strokes – the Lumberjacks placed fourth with a score of 980 (+116) after finishing ninth a year ago.
The Yellowjackets finished behind the Saints who compiled a total of 978 (+114) in just the second year as a program. The Saints were led by Marc Peterson who tallied a score of 233 (+17) to tie for fourth with Mahowald and Josh Hansen of Martin Luther College.
Kyle Och of the University of Minnesota Morris was tied for the lead after two rounds and finished strong to place third with a score of 232 (+16).
Wisconsin-Superior was led by Anton Svensson who placed seventh with a score of 234 (+18) and Northland was led by Evan Lunda who shot 237 (+21).
Crown College captured fifth behind team leader Tom Messner who finished ninth. Minnesota Morris was sixth behind the strong play of Och. Bethany Lutheran College edged out Martin Luther by one stroke for seventh and North Central University rounded out the tournament in ninth.