finalThe 33rd-ranked University of Minnesota men's golf team finished in fourth place today at the 2001 Big Ten Championships at the par 72, 7,118-yard Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Ill., firing a final-round 284 to post a 72-hole score of 1152. The Golden Gophers finished 20 strokes behind Northwestern who captured the conference title for the third consecutive year. Northwestern's Luke Donald took the individual title with a nine-under 279.

Freshman Simon Nash led the Maroon and Gold with his sixth-place finish at a three-under 285. Nash shot a final-round 71 and ended tied with Indiana's Steve Wheatcroft in sixth. Sophomore Wilhelm Schauman fired his fourth-consecutive round of par golf and finished in a tie for 14th place with an even 288. After the tournament, Schauman was named to the 2001 All-Big Ten Team. Sophomore Joe Affrunti also finished in 14th place, following his final-round 71. Rounding out the Minnesota results are sophomore Ben Meyers in 28th at 293 and freshman Justin Smith in 44th at 300.

Northwestern's Donald captured his second-straight Big Ten title, firing a final-round 71 to finish two shots ahead of Mike Austin of Ohio State and three shots ahead of Iowa's Bo Anderson. Donald was named the 2001 Player of the Year for the third-straight time. He also won his third-straight Les Bolstad Award with a stroke average of 70.58. Teammate Tom Johnson took Freshman of the Year honors and NU's Pat Goss won his third consecutive Coach of the Year award.

In the team competition, Northwestern registered a final round of 279 to finish with a final score of 1132, 13 stokes ahead of runner-up Purdue and 19 shots up on third-place Ohio State. The Wildcats' score of 1132 was only one stroke off the team record they set in 1999. Northwestern had four golfers finish in the top ten. Iowa ended the weekend in fifth place with an 1153, followed by Michigan State (1161), Wisconsin and Michigan (1168), Penn State (1169), Illinois (1173), and Indiana (1205).

Minnesota next competes at the NCAA Central Regional in Stillwater, Okla., Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19.

All-Big Ten Team Luke Donald - Northwestern Mike Austin - Ohio State Steve Wheatcroft - Indiana Matt Abbott - Penn State Lee Williamson - Purdue Todd Anderson - Wisconsin Geoff Lound - Illinois Tom Johnson - Northwestern Wilhelm Schauman - Minnesota Chris Thayer - Northwestern Coach of the Year - Patt Goss, Northwestern Player of the Year - Luke Donald, Northwestern Freshman of the Year - Tom Johnson, Northwestern 2001 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Stone Creek Golf Club Urbana, Ill. Par: 72 Yardage: 7,118 72-Hole Team Results Team Scores Northwestern 289-280-284-279=1132 -20 Purdue 286-283-285-291=1145 -7 Ohio State 289-287-284-291=1151 -1 Minnesota 291-291-286-284=1152 E Iowa 300-292-284-277=1153 +1 Michigan State 285-294-292-290=1161 +9 Wisconsin 301-287-292-288=1168 +16 Michigan 296-293-294-285=1168 +16 Penn State 293-291-289-296=1169 +17 Illinois 294-291-294-294=1173 +21 Indiana 302-304-305-294=1205 +53 2001 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Stone Creek Golf Club Urbana, Ill. Par: 72 Yardage: 7,118 72-Hole Individual Results Player School Scores Luke Donald Northwestern 70-65-73-71=279 -9 Mike Austin Ohio State 74-69-66-72=281 -7 Bo Anderson Iowa 71-69-71-71=282 -6 Tom Johnson Northwestern 76-69-68-71=284 -4 Chris Thayer Northwestern 72-74-71-67=284 -4 Steve Wheatcroft Indiana 71-69-77-68=285 -3 Simon Nash Minnesota 72-74-68-71=285 -3 Todd Anderson Wisconsin 75-69-71-71=286 -2 Scott Harrington Northwestern 71-72-73-70=286 -2 Ryan Miller Purdue 69-69-76-72=286 -2 Golden Gopher Scores Place Player Scores T6 Simon Nash 72-74-68-71=285 -3 T14 Wilhelm Schauman 72-72-72-72=288 E T14 Joe Affrunti 72-70-75-71=288 E T28 Ben Meyers 75-75-72-71=293 +5 T44 Justin Smith 79-76-74-71=300 +12