Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 1)
Wolverines in 10th After First Day of Big Ten Tournament
5/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Verona, Wis.
Course: University Ridge Golf Course (par 72, 6,888 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships
U-M Standing: 10th Place (298) After Day 1
Top U-M Individual: Rob Tighe, tie-18 (73)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., May 7-8 -- at Big Ten Championships (Verona, Wis.)
VERONA, Wis. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team opened the 2005 Big Ten Tournament posting a 298 first round team total today (Friday, May 6) at the University Ridge Golf Course. The Wolverines are currently in yet another tight postseason race among eight of the 11 Big Ten teams, as 10 strokes separate fourth place Ohio State (290) from 11th place Illinois (300).
The Maize and Blue put up steady numbers throughout round one as fifth-year senior Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) and junior Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist) are among the top 25 individually.
Tighe led the Wolverines in the first round and is tied for 18th overall after a one-over 73. Tighe flirted with even par from start to finish, staying within one stroke of the even mark throughout the entire round. He started off recording a steady one-over on the back nine, sprinkling in two birdies among his four pars and three bogeys. Tighe made the turn carding back-to-back birdies to put him at one-under, but he recorded two bogeys in the final seven holes to put him at one-over for the day.
Vozza is a stroke behind Tighe, as he is tied for 25th after carding a two-over 74 in the first round. After recording three-straight pars to lead off the back nine, Vozza put up a double bogey on No. 12 to put him at two-over par. He shot another par on No. 13 before rebounding with back-to-back birdies to set him back to even. After closing the back nine with back-to-back pars to keep him at even, Vozza went back to one-over with a bogey on No. 1. A birdie on No. 6 reset his score, but his second double bogey of the day on No. 8 set his score at a two-over for the day.
Freshman Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS) is in a tie for 32nd after recording a three-over 75 in the first round. Ottenweller played steady from start to finish, bogeying three holes among his 15 pars to leave him three over for the day. Fellow-freshman Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) is in a tie for 39th, carding a four-over 76. Schaetzel started off the back nine with three-straight bogeys before erasing two strokes with birdies on No. 14 and No. 16. After making the turn, he sandwiched a birdie between a double bogey and a bogey to give him four over after 12 holes. He put up another bogey on No. 6 before ending the day with a birdie on No. 9 to finish with a four-over 76. Sophomore Kevin Dore (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's) is 55th with an 81.
Michigan State (282) took the early lead in the conference tournament as the Spartans are just a single stroke ahead of second-place Indiana (283) and third-place Minnesota (285). The Hoosier's Jeff Overton sits atop the individual leaderboard with a seven-under 65 in the first round.
The Maize and Blue have 36-holes remaining in the 54-hole championship and will play the second round, Saturday (May 7) with tee times starting at 8 a.m. CST off the No. 10 tee. The Wolverines will be paired with Illinois for the second day of play.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Michigan State 282 (-6)
2. Indiana 283
3. Minnesota 285
4. Ohio State 290
5. Purdue 292
Wisconsin 292
7. Northwestern 294
8. Iowa 296
Penn State 296
10. MICHIGAN 298
11. Illinois 300
Top Individuals (After Day 1)
1. Jeff Overton, Indiana 65 (-7)
2. Ryan Brehm, Michigan State 68
Ben Greve, Minnesota 68
Matt Harmon, Michigan State 68
5. Mark Leon, Penn State 69
6. Niall Turner, Minnesota 70
Chris Wilson, Northwestern 70
8. Colin Biles, Ohio State 71
Michael Haverfield, Ohio State 71
Pariya Junhasavasdikul, Purdue 71
Scott Seibert, Indiana 71
12. Jimmy Chestnut, Michigan State 72
Brian deBuhr, Iowa 72
Garrett Jones, Wisconsin 72
Kyle Moore, Northwestern 72
Peter Richardson, Purdue 72
Kevin Tassistro, Wisconsin 72
Michigan Individual Scores
T18. Rob Tighe 73 T25. Christian Vozza 74 T34. Brian Ottenweller 75 T40. Tim Schaetzel 76 55. Kevin Dore 81
Q U O T E S
Michigan Coach Andrew Sapp
On the Wolverines' first round of the Big Ten Tournament ... "For us, I would have liked to see us finish a little better. We lost some shots coming down the stretch. There are so many teams really close. Three teams really separated themselves, but we are only six shots out of fifth and eight out of fourth. We'll be off first again in the morning, so hopefully we can post a good score to get us going and see what it does. We are in a position, even though we are 10th, to really move up. It's just a matter of getting out there and doing it."
N O T E S
• Brian Ottenweller and Tim Schaetzel are competing in their first Big Ten Championships. Rob Tighe is playing in his third, while Christian Vozza and Kevin Dore are each playing their second.
Players Mentioned
