Northwestern wins Big 10 Match Play in Dramatic Fashion
2/11/2017 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
It came down to the very last putt but in the end No. 3 Northwestern was able to outlast No. 5 Penn State 3.5-2.5
PALM COAST, FL (February 11, 2017) -- It came down to the very last putt but in the end No. 3 Northwestern was able to outlast No. 5 Penn State 3.5-2.5 and win the Big 10 Match Play crown. With everything all tied up and only one match left on the course Northwestern's Everton Hawkins holed a 35-foot putt to win the final hole of an all-square match against Alec Bard and swing the championship tilt in favor of the Wildcats.
The victory for Northwestern was their conference best fourth win in the Big 10 Match Play.
"The guys were impressive this week, they fought hard to the end of each match and came away with the win," head coach David Inglis said. "Penn State really made it close and it could have gone either way at the end."
In the title match Northwestern also picked up decisive wins from Conor Richardson (5&4) and Dylan Wu (7&5).
Penn State, who had never reached the finals before, was able to move onto the championship match after a tiebreaker win over No. 8 Iowa. After finishing the match tied 3-3 the Nittany Lions were able to advance thanks to a 9-7 advantage in holes won.
Northwestern was able to punch their ticket into the the title match with a 4-1-1 win over No. 7 Minnesota. The Wildcats won the first three matches setting the tone for the rest of the morning session.
-Northwestern Athletics contributed to this story
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