BECKER, Minn. - The biggest tournament of the season has arrived for the University of Northwestern Men's Golf team. Northwestern returns to Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, Minnesota, Thursday-Saturday, for the 2024 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Golf Championships. Despite a third-place finish at the UMAC Preview at Pebble Creek in September, the Eagles come into the event red-hot with back-to-back wins over conference opposition and the lowest team scoring average on the season among the eight UMAC teams. Follow along with live scoring all week here.

Day One

UNW's first round total came in a little higher than usual at 325 (+27), but that seemed to be the case with most of the field in the windy and chilly conditions at Pebble Creek on Thursday. The Eagles, who sit in a tie for second place, just two strokes behind North Central, were paced by their freshman on day one. Recently-crowned UMAC Player of the Week Carson Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeaulah) made three birdies to shoot 78 (+6), while Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) birdied the 10th hole en route to an 80 (+8). Mersberger is tied for third place in the medalist competition with 36 holes to go and Frazell is tied for eighth. Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) made a birdie on each nine to shoot 83 (+11) and put himself in a tie for 18th, and Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) is right behind him, tied for 21st. Seiffert birdied holes seven and nine on his way to a round of 84 (+12). Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) made a birdie on the par-five second and is tied for 28th after carding an 86 (+14).

Northwestern is tied with UW-Superior in the second position entering day two, while Bethany Lutheran lurks just two shots behind. Dilly will lead things off for the Eagles Friday at 12:20 PM.

Day Two

If the first two days of play at the 2024 UMAC Men's Golf Championship are any indication, championship Saturday will be a movie. Although Northwestern gave three more shots to the leaders on Friday, it still is firmly in the mix, just five shots back of leaders UW-Superior and North Central with 18 holes to play. The Eagles shot +39 in round two and are now +76 for the championship, one stroke ahead of fourth-place Bethany Lutheran. Carson Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeaulah) is a big reason UNW is in striking distance, as a round of 79 (+7) on Friday put the freshman in a three-way tie for the lead at +13 entering Saturday's final round. Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) shot a 79 as well, bouncing back from an 84 on Thursday, to move into a tie for ninth at +19. Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) turned in an 84 (+12) in the second round to bring his total to +20, good for a tie for 11th. Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) was the only Eagle to make multiple birdies on Friday en route to an 85 (+13), which puts him in a tie for 23rd at +27. Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) carded an 89 (+17) on Friday to put himself at +28 for the tournament, which ties him for 26th.

Skaar will be the first Eagle on the course Saturday at 11:20 AM as UNW tries to chase down the Yellowjackets and Rams for the conference crown. Follow along with up-to-date scoring at the link above.

Day Three

Northwestern knew it had to put on a great performance on Saturday in order to chase down North Central and UW-Superior for the crown, and despite shooting by far its best score of the week (+23) in brutal winds, came up nine strokes short. North Central (+90) shot +19 on day three to win by nine over UNW (+99) and five over Superior (+95). Carson Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeaulah) was the lowest-scoring Eagle for the tournament at +22 after shooting 81 (+9) on Saturday, finishing in a tie for fourth. Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) closed strong, firing a 75 (+3) in the final round to finish +23 in a tie for sixth. Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) tied for 10th overall after shooting 80 (+8) on day three to bring his total score to +27. Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) bounced back after a disappointing Friday to make four birdies and card a 76 (+4) on Saturday, moving him into 17th at +32. Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) made three more birdies in the final round en route to an 80 (+8) that put him at +35 for the week, good for 19th place.

Thus concludes the fall season for the Eagles as a team. However, one Eagle will have one more tournament to compete in, as Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) qualified as an individual for the NCCAA National Championships. Seiffert, along with Morgan Eckman from the Women's team, will tee it up in Florida beginning October 21st. The rest of the Eagles will be back on the course in the spring.