Michigan
The Ridges Intercollegiate
U-M Opens Season, Sapp Era at Ridges Intercollegiate
9/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Junior/sophomore Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) led the Wolverine charge with his tie for 24th with a career-best 223 54-hole tournament finish, while junior David Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS, Mich.) was just behind as he tied for 27th with a 224 total.
In his first round of the season, Tighe birdied two of his first six holes before recording back-to-back bogeys on No. 16 and 17 to put him back at even par through nine holes. After making the turn, he opened with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 before a bogey on No. 3 stalled the run. Another birdie on No. 5 lowered him to two-under par, but a bogey on No. 7 and double-bogey on No. 9 gave him a first-round score of one-over 73, matching his career best.
In the second round, Tighe played solidly but recorded five bogeys through the first 12 holes before getting a stroke back with a birdie on No. 13. He closed out with another bogey on No. 16 to give him a five-over 77. Tighe's final round started out like gangbusters as he birdied four of his first six holes, but an additional four bogeys in his first nine put him at even par at the turn. With downpours causing havoc on his last nine holes, he was able to keep it together and again tie his career best of 73, giving him a 54-hole total of 223.
Starting off of No. 10 in the first round, Nichols used a birdie on No. 13 to sit at minus-one through his first 10 holes of the year. After a bogey on No. 2, he bounced back with a birdie on No. 4 to put him back at even par, but he then bogeyed No. 5. Another birdie on No. 8 followed with a bogey on No. 9 finished his first round with a one-over 73.
Nichols started the second round with a birdie on No. 1, which was erased with a bogey on No. 2. Nichols bogeyed four more holes in the second round and parred the rest to finish his round with a four-over 76. Nichols' third round started with a bogey on No. 10, but he struck back with a pair of birdies on Nos. 14 and 16. However, sandwiched in between was a bogey, putting him at even par at the turn. Again, rains caused problems in his last nine holes as he shot plus-three 75 to give him a 224 total.
In their first collegiate tournament, reshirt freshman Mark McIntosh (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord HS) tied for 55th after rounds of 75-75-80 for a 230, freshman Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School) was 69th after carding rounds of 79-76-81 for a 236 total and redshirt freshman Jimmy Wisinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern HS) was 75th after firing rounds of 81-78-85 for a 244 total.
Wake Forest (287-294-295/876) held off the final-round charge of North Carolina (291-298-289/878) to take home the team trophy. Texas Christian (298-292-292/882) was third. There were five co-medalists after Wake Forest's Bill Haas (73-72-70), North Carolina's Dustin Bray (72-71-72), Tennessee's Ian Parnaby (68-72-75), TCU's David Schultz (70-75-70) and Duke's Leif Olson (70-70-75) all tied at 215. There was no playoff due to travel schedules of teams.
After two weeks off, Michigan will head to Bloomington, Ind., for the Northern Intercollegiate on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 28-29, at the IU Golf Course, which will be the site for the 2003 Big Ten Championships in early May.
Team Standings
1. Wake Forest 287-294-295 = 876 2. North Carolina 291-298-289 = 878 3. Texas Christian 298-292-292 = 882 4. Duke 291-296-296 = 883 5. South Carolina 290-298-296 = 884 6. East Tennessee State 299-291-296 = 886 7. Tennessee 291-290-306 = 887 8. Auburn 292-296-301 = 889 9. Arkansas 290-301-301 = 892 10. Houston 290-309-296 = 895 11. Georgia Southern 291-303-304 = 898 Virginia Tech 308-288-302 = 898 13. Augusta State 301-298-312 = 911 14. MICHIGAN 300-304-309 = 913Top Individuals
1. Bill Haas, Wake Forest* 73-72-70 = 215 Dustin Bray, North Carolina* 72-71-72 = 215 Ian Parnaby, Tennessee* 68-72-75 = 215 David Schultz, Texas Christian* 70-75-70 = 215 Leif Olson, Duke* 70-70-75 = 215 * all declared co-championsMichigan Individual Finishes
T24. Rob Tighe 73-77-73 = 223 T27. David Nichols 73-76-75 = 224 T55. Mark McIntosh 75-75-80 = 230 69. Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury 79-76-81 = 236 75. Jimmy Wisinski 81-78-85 = 244
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the Wolverines' first tournament ... "It was a good experience for our young guys. I was really pleased with the way Rob (Tighe) and David (Nichols) played. They really hung in there. There were some good signs from our freshman, but we are just going to get back and use the 12 days we have to improve and qualify again before we head to the next tournament."
On the strong tournament field ... "This was a good tournament to come to. It is good to see what it is like to play against some of the top programs in country. Hopefully, we will realize that we are not that far off from really competing with some of the teams that were here. We just need some consistency and some solid play from our 3, 4 and 5 spots and we will be just fine."
Junior David Nichols
On the tournament finish not bothering the team ... "Going into the tournament I was excited because it was going to be one of the best fields I have ever played in. We weren't thinking about our place. We just wanted to come here and improve and see where were we stood against teams like this. For me, I was happy with the way we played. We had some mistakes, but we are quite a bit ahead of where I thought we were."
Junior/Sophomore Rob Tighe
On the team's performance ... "We did all right, but we are a young team. We have no seniors. When you look at this field it is exciting. I was excited and a little nervous to play with some of the teams we had here. We just wanted to use this to build upon ourselves and improve. Now we just have to use this experience and continue to get better. We need to build on what we started here."
N O T E S
Rob Tighe's 54-hole total of 223 was a career best, topping the 227 he had at the Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-9, 2001). In addition, Tighe's first- and third-round tallies of 73 tied his career-best single-round score. The only other time he has fired a 73 was in the first round of the Badger Invitational.
Mark McIntosh, Jimmy Wisinski and Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury competed in their first collegiate tournaments at the Ridges Intercollegiate. Both McIntosh and Wisinski redshirted last season, while Svechota made the team as a walk-on.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
