Michigan
Big Ten Championships
U-M Earns Eighth-Place Finish at Big Ten Championships
5/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Bloomington, Ind.
Course: Indiana University Golf Course (par 71, 6,942)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Finish: 8th Place of 11 Teams (300-285-297-295/1177)
Top U-M Individual: Mark McIntosh, tie-25th (75-70-71-78/294)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Paced by a season-best, even-par 71 final round by senior/junior Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) and a two-over 73 from junior Dave Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS, Mich.), the University of Michigan recorded its third straight team total under 300 strokes (295) today (Sunday, May 4) to finish eighth at the Big Ten Conference Men's Golf Championships at the IU Golf Course. The Wolverines finished with a 1,177 72-hole total after tallying rounds of 300, 285, 297 and 295 and earned their lowest tournament finish of the 2002-03 season.
Carlton's even-par 71 in the final round helped him to his best placing of the season.
Redshirt freshman Mark McIntosh (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord HS) led the Wolverines all tournament long as he tied for 25th in his first career postseason event. After a four-over 75 in the first round, he came firing back in the second and third rounds with a career-best-tying 70 and an even-par 71, respectively. He carded a 78 in the final round but still finished as the top Wolverine with a 294 72-hole total.
Junior/sophomore Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) also competed in his first career Big Ten Championships and had a solid tournament over the three days as he tied for 28th. He opened with a 78 in the first round but came back with a one-over 72 in the second round and even-par 71 in the third. He closed with a three-over 74 for a 295 championships total.
Carlton used a even-par 71 in the final round to jump nine spots as he finished in a season-best tie for 32nd with a career-best 72-hole performance of 297. He opened with a two-over 73 and then ran into trouble in the second and third rounds, firing a 76 and 77, respectively, before closing out with his tournament-low and season-best round of 71. Nichols followed Carlton's lead as the used a two-over 73 in the final round to move up four positions to tie for 37th with a career-best 299 Big Ten performance. After opening with a 76, he came back quickly with a one-over 72 in the second round. Nichols struggled in the third round carding a 78 but recovered with his final-round 73.
Freshman Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School) showed signs of nerves and signs of a being veteran in his first Big Ten Championships as he tied for 48th with a 304 total. He opened with a 76 and then came back with a career-best 71 in the second round. He followed with rounds of 80 and 77 in his first postseason event.
Minnesota used a 12-stroke swing in the final round to claim its second straight Big Ten team title after firing a seven-under 277 in the final round. The Golden Gophers finished with a 14-under total of 1,122 (283-282-280-277), six strokes ahead of Illinois (282-281-276-289/1,128), which had held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds. Ohio State finished third with a 1,153 total (282-288-288-295).
The Golden Gophers made it a clean sweep as Matt Anderson won medalist honors by a single stroke. After carding a four-under 67 in the final round, Anderson finished with an eight-under 276 championships total (71-67-71-67). Three players tied for the runner up spot at 277 -- Northwestern's Tom Johnson (68-72-69-68), Illinois' James Lepp (73-66-69-69) and Minnesota's Simon Nash (69-73-68-67).
With the conclusion of the Big Ten Championships, Michigan's season has been completed.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 283-282-280-277 = 1122 (-14) 2. Illinois 282-281-276-289 = 1128 3. Ohio State 282-288-288-295 = 1153 4. Northwestern 286-296-288-288 = 1158 5. Purdue 294-284-289-292 = 1159 6. Indiana 285-298-287-294 = 1164 7. Michigan State 286-290-293-299 = 1168 8. MICHIGAN 300-285-297-295 = 1177 9. Iowa 293-290-308-289 = 1180 10. Penn State 295-297-298-303 = 1193 11. Wisconsin 298-302-300-301 = 1200
Top Individuals
1. Matt Anderson, Minnesota 71-67-71-67 = 276 (-8)
2. Tom Johnson, Northwestern 68-72-69-68 = 277
James Lepp, Illinois 73-66-69-69 = 277
Simon Nash, Minnesota 69-73-68-67 = 277
5. Justin Smith, Minnesota 71-70-68-70 = 279
6. Peter Kamis, Purdue 70-67-72-71 = 280
7. Garrett Chaussard, Illinois 69-71-69-75 = 284
8. Jeff Overton, Indiana 73-70-69-73 = 285
9. Kevin Hall, Ohio State 71-70-71-75 = 287
Patrick Nagle, Illinois 71-73-71-72 = 287
11. Zach Doran, Ohio State 72-72-71-73 = 288
Ryan Tendall, Illinois 72-74-67-75 = 288
13. Eric Jorgensen, MSU 73-70-72-74 = 289
Casey Lubahn, MSU 68-74-70-77 = 289
Zack Randol, Ohio State 71-72-73-73 = 289
Michigan Individuals
T25. Mark McIntosh 75-70-71-78 = 294 T28. Rob Tighe 78-72-71-74 = 295 T32. Scott Carlton 73-76-77-71 = 297 T37. Dave Nichols 76-72-78-73 = 299 T48. Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury 76-71-80-77 = 304
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On Michigan's Big Ten Championships performance ... "It definitely was nice to finish the season on a positive note. We had our best round of the year and our best finish of the year and to do it at Big Tens is important. It is an important step forward. Going into Big Tens we were seeding 11th and to finish eighth just meant that we played well when we needed to. I am fairly pleased with the way we finished up. Obviously, Scott (Carlton) played well today, which was nice to see him bounce back and have a good round. It gave us at least another player who had at least one good round in the tournament. It just was a balanced tournament. That one day when it all came together for us was just spectacular."
On the play of Mark McIntosh and Rob Tighe ... "Mark really, especially the first three rounds, led the charge for us. He struggled early this morning and then played fairly well on the back nine. That was really important for us. He got us off to a good start and guys were able to cover for him when he played poorly today. Rob, wow. After having such a good fall and he struggled during the spring, for him to play well at Big Tens was just exceptional. I could not be more pleased with the way he played this week. He could have even played better, he would be the first to tell you that. He showed a lot of guts after not having played all that well this spring."
On the thoughts about next season ... "We had some good spots and some bad spots this season as a whole. I think it was a year of growing for a young team. I am really kind of pleased considering the fact that we had three newcomers at the Big Ten Championships. We played fairly well. We played as well as we did last year with three veterans. So, it bodes well for our future. Hopefully we can gain from this experience and really keep jumping up the scoreboard in years to come until we can get ahold of that championship."
Redshirt Freshman Mark McIntosh
On his Big Ten Championships ... "Obviously I played better than I have during the first three rounds, but I am little disappointed in the way I finished today. If I would have just putted a little better, make a few short putts, maybe I could have dropped a few more strokes, but overall I am very pleased. I'm glad I finished in the upper half of the field."
On the team's play in the championships ... "I think everybody was really into this tournament. At the end of the year at the Big Ten tournament, that is what counts. Everyone always asks you what did you do at Big Tens. I didn't want to tell everyone that we finished 11th, which is what we were expected to finish. So, even though it is eighth place it's not too disappointing. It's not a bad finish at all."
On the team's future ... "Our finish here is definitely a building block. We've got some good players coming back and some good players coming in next year. So I think we have a good jump board right here and hopefully we can keep it going next fall."
Junior/Sophomore Rob Tighe
On Michigan's eighth-place Big Ten finish ... "It feels pretty good considering most people were picking us to finish last, so we exceeded those expectations. You always want to finish first, so in that respect it is kind of disappointing, but I think we played pretty well as a team overall."
On his tournament performance ... "Coming off the spring, I was really pleased with the way I played this week. It feels pretty good. I almost put it all together. There are just a few things I need to work on. So overall I am pretty happy and satisfied with the way I played."
On the future ... "I think our finish here and the positive things that happened will definitely help us in the future. It was a good way for us to end the season. We are just going to try and improve. We are going to try and keep doing that one tournament at a time next year until we get back to the Big Tens where hopefully we can continue to move up and have even more success."
N O T E S
• With its eighth-place finish, Michigan kept alive the streak of never finishing below ninth at a Big Ten Championships.
• Michigan's 295 fourth-round team tally is the 11th time in 37 total rounds this season the Wolverines have recorded a team total under 300 strokes.
• Michigan's 285, 297 and 295 in the final three rounds marked the first time in eight tournaments the Wolverines recorded back-to-back-to-backs rounds under 300. The last time it happened was at the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6) when the Maize and Blue shot 297-292-292, which was part of a six-round streak under 300. The Wolverines had rounds of 291-292-298 at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) just a week earlier.
• Michigan's second-round team total of one-over 285 at the Big Ten Championships is a season best by six strokes. The Wolverines' previous best mark of 291 was tallied in the first round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29), ironically at the IU Golf Course.
• Dave Nichols tied for second with 53 total pars during the entire Big Ten Championships.
• Scott Carlton led the Wolverines with 10 birdies during the Big Ten Championships. Mark McIntosh and Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury each had nine, Rob Tighe had eight and Dave Nichols had five.
• Dave Nichols' 299 Big Ten Championships total set a new career best for a 72-hole event. His prior best was a 301 tally at the 2002 Big Ten Championships (May 3-5, 2002).
• Scott Carlton's 297 Big Ten Championships total ties his career-best total for a 72-hole event. He also recorded a 297 total at the 2002 Big Ten Championships (May 3-5, 2002).
• For the second time in his career Mark McIntosh set a career-best single-round total at the IU Golf Course. McIntosh's one-under 70 in the second round tied his career-best total. He first recorded a 70 in the third round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) at the IU Golf Course. He also did it in the second round of the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6).
• Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury set a new career-best score with an even-par 71 in the second round. His previous best was a 72 fired in the second round of the individuals tournament at the El Diablo Intercollegiate (March 15-16).
• Mark McIntosh, Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury and Rob Tighe all competed in their first career Big Ten Conference Championships.
Players Mentioned
