Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., April 26-27 -- at Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
Fri-Sun., May 2-4 -- at Big Ten Conference Championships (Bloomington, Ind.)

Next on the Tee: Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational
After two weeks away from competition, the University of Michigan men's golf team will head northwest to East Lansing, Mich., to play in the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational Saturday and Sunday (April 26-27) at Michigan State's Forest Akers West Course. The 54-hole tournament will feature 14 teams, including nine Big Ten Conference schools, playing 36 holes Saturday followed with a final 18 on Sunday. The West Course will be set up for a par of 72 and 7,013 yards.

The Bruce Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational Field
The Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational will feature 14 teams: Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Toledo, Xavier and Wisconsin.

The Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational Schedule
The Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational will consist of 54 holes, 36 being played Saturday (April 26) and a final 18 Sunday (April 27).

Friday, April 25	Practice Round	Tee times throughout the day
Saturday, April 26	First Round	8:30 a.m. (shotgun start)
	Second Round	1:30 p.m. (shotgun start)
Sunday, April 27	Final Round	9:00 a.m. (shotgun start)

The Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational Scoring Format
Scoring for the Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational will be five players, count the low four scores each round.

Following the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational
Wolverine golf fans can follow the final round of the Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational Sunday (April 27) as Michigan State will have live scoring on its website -- msuspartans.com. The first two round will not be available for live scoring.

The Michigan Lineup at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational
The Wolverines will carry five players for the Michigan squad at the Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational. The Maize and Blue lineup will be headed up by junior Dave Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS, Mich.), redshirt freshman Mark McIntosh (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord HS) and senior/junior Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS). Junior/sophomore Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) and freshman Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School) round out the travel squad.

Last Year at the Fossum/Spartan Invitational: U-M Moves Up One Spot to Finish 11th at Fossum
With overcast and high-wind weather conditions, the Wolverines persevered through the poor weather to move up one position to finish 11th (307-312-297/916) at the 2002 Bruce Fossum Invitational (April 26-27) at Forest Akers West Course in East Lansing, Mich. Former Wolverine Andy Matthews (1999-2002) led the Wolverines with his tie for 18th (72-77-76/225), Dave Nichols tied for 40th (79-76-75/230), Scott Carlton tied for 54th (80-81-73/234), Kyle Kilcherman (1999-2002) tied for 62nd (85-78-73/236) and Andrew Chapman (1999-2002) tied for 76th (76-85-85/246).
 
Last Time on the Links: U-M Slips to 16th-Place Showing at Kepler Intercollegiate
The Wolverines' struggles in the final round dropped the Maize and Blue to a 16th-place finish at the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 12-13) at the Ohio State Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. The Wolverines, who were 13th after the first day of play, finished with a 941 54-hole tournament total after tallying team rounds of 308 and 311 Saturday and a final-round 322 Sunday. Mark McIntosh led the way, firing all three of his rounds under 80 -- the only Wolverine to do so -- to tie for 36th with a 231 total. He opened with a four-over 76 in the first round, followed with a 78 in the second and closed with a 77 to finish as the top Wolverine for the second straight tournament. Dave Nichols tied for 64th (73-84-80/237), Rob Tighe tied for 72nd (82-75-82/239), Scott Carlton (79-79-84) and Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury (80-79-83) both tied for 80th with 242 tournament totals.

Always Around
Mark McIntosh has made the most of his first true season with the Wolverines. After redshirting last season, McIntosh has played in all 10 tournaments this season. In fact, he has led the Wolverines in their last two tournament trips. He is third on the team with a 76.66 score average and has continued to be one of the more consistent Wolverines. He fired a career-best two-under 70 twice this season, in the third round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) and the second round at the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6). His 220 total at the Northern Intercollegiate also was a career-best 54-hole tournament total and his tie for 22nd at the Johnny Owens Invitational (March 29-30) was a career-best finish.

Nichols Continues to Lead Wolverines
Dave Nichols continues to make strides in his junior season after finishing as the top Wolverine in five of the 10 tournaments this season. He is currently second on the Wolverines with a 75.66 scoring average. So far this season Nichols has rewritten several career best marks. His 54-hole total of 216 at the Landfall Tradition (Nov. 1-3) was a career best by two strokes, topping the 218 totals he had at the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6) and the 2001 Xavier Invitational (Oct. 8-9, 2001). Nichols' first- and third-round scores of one-under 71 at the Landfall Tradition were the third and fourth times this season he has broken par for 18 holes. He had a one-under 70 in the first round at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) and a career-best two-under 69 in the first round of the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6).

Carlton Back in the Mix
At the Coastal Carolina Invitational (March 10-11), Scott Carlton made his first appearance in the Wolverine lineup since playing in the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6). Since then, he has been a regular in the Maize and Blue lineup. He had a season-best 228 at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) and has fired a season-best 72 two times -- second round of the Northern and the final round of the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6). For the season he is averaging 77.77 strokes per round.

Coming on Strong
Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury has made a late-season charge as he has played in the last three tournaments for the Wolverines. At the Johnny Owens Invitational (March 29-30) Svechota-Kingsbury had a career-best placing as he tied for 39th. He fired a career-best 72 in the second round of the El Diablo (March 15-16) and has had a career-best 236 54-hole total twice -- at the Johnny Owens and the Ridges (Sept. 14-15). He has played in five career tournaments and is averaging 79.35 per round.

Steadily Improving
After only playing in two of 11 tournaments last year, Rob Tighe has played in all 10 tournaments this season. His second-round score of one-under 70 at the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6) set a new career best, topping the 72 he fired in the final round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29). In addition, his 217 54-hole total at the Wolverine was also a career best, topping the 223 he had at the Ridges (Sept. 28-29). For the year, he is averaging 77.60 per round.

Rotation Continues
For the five fall tournaments the competition in the weekly qualifiers was tough, as the Wolverines used four different lineups in the five tournaments. With five spring tournaments already completed, the Wolverines have continued the trend, as there have now been nine different lineups in the 10 tournaments this season. As a team, Michigan is averaging 306.83 per round and 920.50 for a 54-hole tournament average.

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423