IoThe 23rd-ranked Golden Gopher men's golf team shot a 7-over-par team score of 295, bringing them to 867 (+3) through the third round of the men's golf Big Ten Championships being held in Iowa City, Iowa. Minnesota fell one place to third, tying with Indiana, but is only six strokes back from the lead. Purdue remained in first with a total of 861, while Illinois jumped up the leader-board shooting the lowest team score of the day, a 6-under-par 282, to move from eighth to second place at 863. Only three of the 11 teams competing had team scores under par Saturday.
Sophomore Simon Nash tallied the best score for the Gophers on the day, with his second consecutive round of 70 (-2). The round, which included an eagle on the par-5 15th, moved the All-American up five places to fifth. Nash is just two strokes back from individual leaders, Eric Jorgensen from Michigan State, Andrew Matthews from Michigan and Chris Mayson from Purdue, all sitting at 5-under-par 211.
Also in the top ten for the Gophers is Justin Smith tied for eighth. Smith had a rough going after beginning the day at the top of the leader-board. The sophomore shot a 4-over-par 76, including seven bogeyed holes to three birdies, to bring his tournament score to 216 (E). Following up his highest career finish last weekend at the Fossum Invitational, junior Matt Anderson moved up seven places to sit tied for 16th with an even-par round of 72, 218 total. Fellow junior Wilhelm Schauman dropped in the standings to tie for 23rd with a rocky 77 (+5) for a total score of 220. Sophomore David Morgan also shot a 77, to bring his tournament score up to 230 (+14) and fall to 52nd place.
Minnesota will complete the Big Ten Championships Sunday, teeing off at 8 a.m. at the par-72, 7,002-yard Finkbine Golf Course.
Third Round Scores 1. Purdue 279-289-293-861 (-3) 2. Illinois 294-287-282-863 (-1) 3. Minnesota 294-278-295-867 (+3) Indiana 293-287-287-867 (+3) 5. Northwestern 289-283-296-868 (+4) 6. Michigan 294-284-294-872 (+8) 7. Michigan State 291-291-291-873 (+9) 8. Ohio State 295-285-295-875 (+11) 9. Iowa 291-286-302-879 (+15) 10. Penn State 302-295-287-884 (+20) 11. Wisconsin 297-300-305-902 (+38) Golden Gopher Results 5. Simon Nash 73-70-70-213 (-3) T8. Justin Smith 71-69-76-216 (E) T16. Matt Anderson 76-70-72-218 (+2) T23. Wilhelm Schauman 74-69-77-220 (+4) 52. David Morgan 76-77-77-230 (+14)
