Weekly Release #11
4/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., April 28-29 -- at Fossum Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
Fri-Sun., May 4-6 -- at Big Ten Conference Championships (Urbana, Ill.)
Next on the Tee
The University of Michigan men's golf team will close out the regular-season tournament schedule as the Wolverines travel across the state to East Lansing, Mich., to participate in the Bruce Fossum/TeamGearOnline.com Invitational, hosted by Michigan State, in a final District IV Midwest region battle. The two-day tournament will be held at the Michigan State's Forest Akers West Course. The course will be set up for a par of 72 and 7,003 yards for the 54-hole tournament.
Invitational Teams
The Bruce Fossum/TeamGearOnline.com Invitational features 15 teams from across District IV: Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Xavier.
Invitational Schedule
The Bruce Fossum/TeamGearOnline.com Invitational will consist of 54 holes, 36 holes played Saturday (April 28) and concluding with a final 18 on Sunday (April 29).
| Friday, April 27 | Practice Round | Times throughout the day |
| Saturday, April 28 | First Round | Shotgun start at 8 a.m. |
| | Second Round | Shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, April 29 | Final Round | Shotgun beginning at 8 a.m. |
Scoring Format
Scoring for the Bruce Fossum/TeamGearOnline.com Invitational will be five players, count the low four scores each round.
The Michigan Lineup
The Wolverines will carry five players for the Michigan squad at the Bruce Fossum/TeamGearOnline.com Invitational. Junior Andy Matthews (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS), freshman David Nichols (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS), junior Andrew Chapman (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and fifth-year senior Scott Hayes (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester HS) make up the top four spots for the Fossum. Redshirt freshman Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS), redshirt junior Kyle Kilcherman (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and redshirt freshman Chris Kellogg (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) are all battling for the final spot during the week's qualifier.
Last Year ... Michigan Ties for Seventh at Fossum Invitational
In the final tuneup for conference championships the Wolverines used solid and consistent play to finish tied for seventh in the 18-team battle at the 2000 Bruce Fossum Invitational (April 29-30) at Michigan State University's Forest Akers West Course in East Lansing, Mich. The Wolverines finished with rounds of 303-293-303 for a tournament total of 899 and a tie for the seventh position with Louisville. Michael Harris (1997-2000) tied for ninth after firing rounds of 74-72-74 for a 220 tournament total. Andy Matthews fired back-to-back-to-back rounds of 75 to tie for 26th, carding a 225 total, while Mike Affeldt (1998-2000) tied for 38th (77-73-77/227), Scott Hayes and Andrew Chapman both finished with 230 totals to tie for 51st. Hayes fired rounds of 79-74-77 while Chapman carded 77-74-79.
U-M Misses Kepler Intercollegiate Title by Two Shots
The Wolverines just missed capturing its second team title of the season as they finished third at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (April 14-15) at Ohio State's Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. The Wolverines, who led by one shot over Northwestern after the opening 36 holes, fired a 306 in the final round to finish at 895 (292-297-306), two shots behind the host Buckeyes, who shot 297 to jump from a tie for fourth to the team title at 893 (298-298-297). The Wildcats (295-295-304/894) edged out Michigan for second. Andy Matthews matched his career-best finish as he tied for third after firing rounds of 74-71-75 for a season-best 220 tournament total. David Nichols opened up with a career-best round of 70 and followed it with rounds of 78 and 75 for a career-best 223 total and tie for ninth place, his top career finish. As for the rest of the Wolverines, Andrew Chapman tied for 30th (74-76-79/229); Scott Carlton tied for 35th (74-79-77/230) and Scott Hayes tied for 52nd (82-72-81/235).
Matthews Gets Back on Track
Andy Matthews got back on track with a career-best third-place tie at the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 14-15). Earlier this season Matthews finished tied for third at the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4). In addition, Matthews' 54-hole total of 220 was a season best. He bettered his 221 total from the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). Matthews has not missed a tournament his entire career at Michigan, playing in 35 straight. He is also second on the team with a 74.44 scoring average.
Fourth Tournament Produces Strong Results
Freshman David Nichols has just competed in four tournaments during his career are Michigan, but has shown flashes that he is going to be competing in plenty in his career. He had a career day at the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 14-15), firing a career-best 70 in the first round, bettering his 73 in the first round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). Nichols also had a career-best total of 223, bettering his 228 fired at the Northern Intercollegiate. Finally, his tie for ninth at the Kepler also was a career best, bettering his tie for 24th at the Wolverine South (March 3-4). For the season, he is averaging 75.90.
District IV Race Heating Up in Final Weekend
The District IV race continues to heat up with the last regular-season tournament upcoming. The Wolverines are in the eighth spot and need to move up into the top six in order to get a bid to the NCAA Central Regional. Just ahead of the Wolverines are No. 6 Miami (Ohio) and No. 7 Kent State. The Wolverines have a 3-4 overall record against the Redhawks and are tied 1-1 with the Golden Flashes.
The breakdown for the NCAA Regional bids are: District 1 receives three bids, District 2 gets four, District 3 (North) gets eight, District 3 (South) also gets eight, District 5 gets seven, District 6 gets eight, District 7 gets six and District 8 get 12.
In the District IV Hunt (as of April 14)
| Rank, Team | U-M record vs. |
| 1. Northwestern | 0-1-0 |
| 2. Minnesota | 0-2-0 |
| 3. Toledo | 2-4-0 |
| 4. Ohio State | 2-2-0 |
| 5. Purdue | 1-3-0 |
| 6. Miami (Ohio) | 3-4-0 |
| 7. Kent State | 1-1-0 |
| 8. Michigan | |
The Rankings
Michigan is ranked 71st in the country according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (April 23) to help give the Big Ten eight teams in the top 100. No. 30 Northwestern is the highest ranked Big Ten program, with Minnesota just behind at No. 31. Other top 100 Big Ten teams include: No. 58 Ohio State, No. 65 Purdue, No. 69 Penn State, No. 83 Michigan State and No. 93 Wisconsin. Other ranked conference teams are No. 117 Iowa, No. 125 Illinois and No. 128 Indiana. There are 280 Division I golf programs that are ranked.
More Rankings
Scott Hayes led the Wolverines all fall and is currently ranked 274th in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (April 23) with a 73.43 rating. Hayes is the highest ranked Wolverine of the 2,270 golfers nationally. Andy Matthews is the next closest to Hayes at No. 313 (73.62) and Andrew Chapman is at No. 380 (73.97). Georgia Tech's Bryce Molder in the No. 1 golfer in the country with a 67.40 rating.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
