JGAA alum from Tucson wins by seven in Ohio.
image via NIU Athletics
In a dominating performance, Reece Nilson shot 71-69-67 at Ohio’s Maketewah Country Club to top the field individually at the Xavier Invitational, contested October 18-19. His sharp play also pushed the Northern Illinois Huskies into a tie with Morehead State University for the team championship.
“I’m proud of the way that all six of our players competed this week,” said head coach John Carlson. “We gave ourselves an opportunity down the stretch today, and we converted.”
Tied for fifth place after a first-round 71, Nilsen took the lead after a second-round 69. He then shot two strokes better – 67, his lowest round at NIU – in the final round to cement the win by seven strokes over four players tied for second place.
“This week I really tried to instill the confidence back in my game that I had two weeks ago,” Nilsen said about his play this week. “The first 14 holes didn’t go quite so well, but after that I was playing really good golf and putting really well. I did a good job of putting myself in good spots to be aggressive and make putts.”
“I was happy to see this response from Reece,” Carlson added. “He’s resilient and this confidence for him is going to roll into our final event of the fall. I’m so happy for him. He puts in maximum effort and to see him get over the hump and win a collegiate tournament.”
Nielson competed in JGAA tournaments from 2014 to 2017, jumping to college golf on the heels of two strong performances at the 2017 Tucson Spring Classic, T2, and another T2 at the PING AZ Junior Masters.
