Michigan
General Jim Hackler Intercollegiate
Dore, Tighe Pace Wolverines at Myrtle Beach Tourney
3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- With the fierce first day winds calming down and freshman Kevin Dore (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's) firing an one-over 73, the University of Michigan men's golf team heated up carding a Maize and Blue tournament-low 299 team total today (March 9) to help the Wolverines jump four spots and finish 14th at the General Jim Hackler Invitational at the TPC of Myrtle Beach. The Wolverines tallied a 920 54-hole tournament total after team rounds of 311, 310 and 299.
Pepperdine led for start-to-finish to take home the team title with an 870 team total (292-281-297). Arkansas made a run in the final round carding a tournament-low 285, but it was not enough as the Razorbacks were the runner-up at 876 (302-289-285). In addition to the team trophy, the Waves went 1-2 individually as Alex Cole finished with a three-under 213 (74-68-71), while teammate Randy Creighton was second with a two-under 214 (71-69-74).
As for the Maize and Blue, Dore led the Wolverines tying for 29th with a 225 total after carding descending rounds throughout the 54 holes. He opened with a five-over 77, following with a three-over 75 in the second round before closing out with a Wolverine tournament best one-over 73.
Playing in just his second tournament of the year, senior/junior Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) had a solid showing as he tied for 44th. He sandwiched rounds of 77 with a three-over 75 to help him give him a 229 54-hole tournament total.
Other Wolverine finishes include: sophomore Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Powers Catholic HS), tied for 59th with a 233 (78-78-77); freshman Matt McLaughlin (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook HS), tied for 69th with a 236 (79-82-75) and sophomore Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS), tied for 86th with a 240 (79-87-74). Playing as an individual, freshman Will Kendall (Gerrards Cross, Bucks, England/Oundle School) tied for 86th with a 240 total (82-77-81).
The Wolverines will not see tournament action for just over a little more than two weeks before they head to Greenville, S.C., Friday through Sunday (March 26-28), for the Furman Intercollegiate. The 54-hole tournament will have 18 holes each day at the Furman University Golf Course.
Final Team Standings
1. Pepperdine 292-281-297 = 870 (+6) 2. Arkansas 302-289-285 = 876 3. Central Florida 302-289-288 = 879 4. East Tennessee State 299-297-297 = 893 5. Virginia Tech 301-307-286 = 894 6. South Carolina 306-298-291 = 895 7. Kansas State 303-302-291 = 896 Wake Forest 297-305-294 = 896 9. South Alabama 304-307-296 = 907 10. Louisville 302-305-301 = 908 11. Coastal Carolina 309-293-308 = 910 12. Furman 302-308-301 = 911 13. Virginia 299-308-309 = 916 14. MICHIGAN 311-310-299 = 920 15. Long Beach State 314-307-304 = 925 16. East Carolina 308-318-305 = 931 UT-Arlington 305-312-314 = 931 Charlotte 308-311-312 = 931 19. Coastal Carolina 'B' 314-326-314 = 954
Top Individuals
1. Alex Coe, Pepperdine 74-68-71 = 213 (-3) 2. Randy Creighton, Pepperdine 71-69-74 = 214 3. Charlie Woo, Louisville 71-75-70 = 216 4. Andrew Dahl, Arkansas 76-70-71 = 217 5. Michael Putnam, Pepperdine 70-71-77 = 218 6. Ryan Stinnett, Virginia Tech 73-78-68 = 219 7. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama 73-75-72 = 220 Andreas Hoegberg, Central Florida 75-73-72 = 220 Kyle Reifers, Wake Forest 75-73-72 = 220 A.J. Elgert, Kansas State 76-73-71 = 220 Scott Wise, Virginia Tech 71-77-72 = 220 Paul Bradshaw, Arkansas 76-73-71 = 220
Michigan Individual Scores
T29. Kevin Dore 77-75-73 = 225 T44. Rob Tighe 77-75-77 = 229 T59. Brandon Duff 78-78-77 = 233 T69. Matt McLaughlin 79-82-75 = 236 T86. Christian Vozza 79-87-74 = 240 T86. Will Kendall* 82-77-81 = 240 * played as an individual
Q U O T E S
Michigan Coach Andrew Sapp
On coming back with a better second-day round ... "We are making progress in baby steps, but I am real pleased to see Kevin (Dore) play well this tournament. He improved two shots each round and finished with a 73, which was a low round for us for the entire tournament. Even to see Christian (Vozza) and Matt (McLaughlin) bounce back from horrible rounds in the 80s in the second round to 74 and 75 respectively helped out a lot. I was also pleased to see Rob (Tighe) play so well in basically just his second tournament of the year. He played fairly solid for us, though I know he could have done better. I think that bodes well for him in the future to improve once he gets a little more rust off of his game. Hopefully, he will continue to help us out."
On the tournament finish ... "I would have liked to see the first two rounds closer to 300. We gave away too many shots, especially late in the round that first day in the first round. I was pleased with the way the guys fought hard to finish our round today because it helped us pass a couple teams we needed to pass. They all played well coming in today which was important because we have not been doing a whole lot of playing well to finish in the past. That is kind of been hurting us when we have been trying to climb up a few spots when it was tight in the race."
On playing with a young line-up ... "When you have got a young team, sometimes the maturity, or lack there of, can hurt you when it comes to finishing your rounds or if you play poorly or have a few bad holes you can throw yourself a pity-party and it can affect the rest of your rounds. Obviously, when you look at guys like Matt (McLaughlin) and Christian (Vozza) who had bad rounds who improved in the final round, you can see they can play solid golf. So I think the maturity level as we get older and hopefully wiser will be more consistent throughout our tournaments instead of having two decent rounds and one horrible round or something like that."
On what he will expect going into the next tournament ... "Hopefully, it is just another opportunity for us to continue playing well. We beat a handful of those teams and we will see in a couple weeks. So we have to take the momentum of the 299 which was the best round of our spring so far and continue to improve. I am pleased with the way we finished our last round considering the way played last year in last rounds, which was a world of difference. So it is good to see our guys fight and play good the last round and move up the leaderboard a couple spots."
Freshman Kevin Dore
On the tournament ... "Overall we had some really good moments. Obviously, the last round was the best round of the tournament for us and we moved past a couple teams, which is positive. I think going into the next round we have to look at this tournament and take it into the first round of the next one. It seems that both tournaments in the spring we have had a slow first round and that puts us behind the eight ball right away. So if we can use this last round as a jump start to the first round of the next tournament that would be key."
On why the team is coming out slower than usual ... "I do not know if there is any particular reason, but obviously we have been able to hit balls and everything, which is great outside. But I guess maybe not being able to play during the week might be a reason, but I wouldnt say it is that big of a factor. Hopefully as we go on in the spring we can forget this and get off to some better starts."
On his performance in the tournament ... "I was pretty happy with the way I played. Improving every round is something that is very positive. Even the first round I played a little better than the score, I just made a couple big numbers. I kind of held it in there and then was able to shoot some decent scores the last two rounds to have a fairly solid tournament, so I was fairly pleased with it."
N O T E S
Rob Tighe competed in just his second tournament of the year. The last time he was on the links was in the season-opening Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 20-21). He finished tied for 47th with a 226 total (77-74-75).
Michigan's 299 third round total was the eight round under 300 this season and first in the last five rounds. It also tied the Maize and Blue's lowest single round total in the spring season. For the year, the Wolverines have a season best of 290 in the first round of the Hoosier Invitational (Sept. 27-28).
Kevin Dore and Christian Vozza have now played in all seven tournaments this season.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
