North by Northwestern

Over the weekend, Matt Fitzpatrick showed up in a big way at The Masters, finishing tied for seventh place. Why do we care? Fitzpatrick was a Northwestern student-athlete in 2013, spending Fall Quarter on campus before leaving to go pro. Think we’re not going to claim him as a Wildcat because he spent just one quarter here? You’re hilariously wrong. Actually, Fitzpatrick’s professional success after his illustrious Northwestern career has inspired us. So, without further adieu, NBN Sports presents: Professional athletes who happened to go to Northwestern.

Matt Fitzpatrick - Golf

By Hayden King

Former @NorthwesternU student @MattFitz94 catapulted to a seventh place finish at @TheMasters: https://t.co/ER4ggO3Tbe - via @insidenu.

— Northwestern Alumni (@NUAlumni) April 12, 2016

The 2016 Masters will forever be remembered for the heroics of Matt Fitzpatrick, who tied for the low round on Sunday with a 67 en route to a seventh place finish. Wait, that's just us. Fitzpatrick birdied four of his final five holes to mark the best Masters result by a former Wildcat since Luke Donald’s 5th place finish in 2011. Fitzpatrick, just 21, was a “one and done” at Northwestern (this never happens at NU), and left after the 2013-14 season to turn pro. Originally from Sheffield, England, Fitzpatrick first gained recognition for being the low amateur at the 2013 British Open. He went on to win the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship before coming to Northwestern the subsequent fall. Fitzpatrick recorded his first and only professional victory at the European Tour’s British Masters in 2015, and he has reached as high as 59th in the World Golf Rankings.

J.A. Happ - Baseball

By Will Fischer

One of the best pitchers to ever come out of Northwestern, Happ had 251 strikeouts and a 2.88 ERA in 228.1 innings pitched as a Wildcat, making the All-Big Ten First Team in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. But Happ left NU before his senior year, and was drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia Phillies. Happ has had his moments in the big leagues, going 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA for the Phillies in 2009 and placing second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. However, he has also battled injuries most of his career, including this scary moment (viewer discretion is advised).

Classic luck for a Northwestern athlete. While he’s had some trouble escaping the effects of that line drive, the left-hander seems to have settled into a comfortable MLB career. Happ has a 62-61 career record and a 4.13 ERA, meaning he is an extremely average MLB pitcher, but still making Northwestern very, very proud.

Kain Colter - Football

By Rob Schaefer

First Trevor Siemian wins a Super Bowl, now Kain Colter becomes the first LA Rams signing. pic.twitter.com/KSvdAdkdpV

— NBN Sports (@nbn_sports) February 9, 2016

You may remember Colter from his spearheading of a campaign to make college athletes recognizable as employees in the United States back in 2014. Or, you may remember Colter registering a passer rating of 139.0 over four years as a Wildcat and becoming the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards (2,180) for a quarterback. Regardless of which Colter comes to mind when you hear the name, neither his on or off-the-field endeavors have necessarily gone according to plan thus far. Colter’s bid to unionize college athletes was nixed by the NLRA last August, a little over a year after he went unselected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Things are looking up for the former Wildcat, though, as he recently landed a contract with the just-established Los Angeles Rams in February. Oh yeah, he’s also a wide receiver now.

Luke Donald - Golf

By Max Goodman

It’s 2011 and Luke Donald, a former Northwestern golfer, is the number one ranked golfer in the world. Donald, originally from Hertfordshire, England, spent a cumulative total of 56 weeks as the top ranked professional golfer on the planet and over the course of his prolific career, the NU grad has tallied 16 professional wins and has top-10 finishes in each of the PGA Tour’s four major championships. Wondering why you didn’t see him at Augusta National last weekend? Clearly, Donald’s art theory degree, which he received during his undergraduate tenure at NU, did not help him perfect the art of golf in the long term. The Englishman has steadily declined since his glory days at No. 1, and is currently ranked No. 90 in the world, as well as failing to qualify for this year’s Masters.

Trevor Siemian – Football

By Andy Brown

Oh yeah, that guy. After an up and down career as Northwestern's starting quarterback, featuring heroics and uh ... whatever the "opposite of heroics" is, the man better known as "Touchdown Trev" was drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the eventual Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos. Touchdown Trev won the third-string QB job in Denver's training camp, but got playing time in a grand total of one game (in which he took a knee to run out the end of a first half) during the team's magical season. But after a wild offseason including Peyton Manning retiring and Brock Osweiler signing with the Texans, Touchdown Trev found himself alone in the QB1 spot. The Broncos did pick up famed buttfumbler Mark Sanchez to stimulate some QB competition, but, come on. With Manning and Osweiler out of the way, Touchdown Trev is in the driver's seat on the road to taking many, many more pictures like this: