Michigan
UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate
U-M Opens Spring With 13th-Place Showing in Orlando
2/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
ORLANDO, Fla. -- After nearly four months away from the golf course, the University of Michigan men's golf team dusted of its clubs and had a solid showing in the opening spring tournament finishing 13th today (Tuesday, Feb. 14) at the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate at the Rio Pinar Country Club. With nine strokes separated fifth through 13th, the Maize and Blue closed with a 907 54-hole tournament total after back-to-back team rounds of 304 followed with a 299 final round score. Throughout the two-days, the tournament field battled two one hour frost delays, strong winds and uncharacteristic colder Florida temperatures.
As with the first fall tournament of the season, senior Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) led the way in the opening spring tournament with a top-20 finish as he tied for 18th with a 223 54-hole total. After opening with a five-over 77, he came back recording par after par to post back-to-back one-over 73s giving him his second top-20 finish of the season. Through the 54-holes, Duff was the overall tournament leader in pars with 41, as he helped Michigan lead overall as a team with 176 total during the tournament.
Senior Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS) made his return to the lineup after missing the final fall tournament due to a shoulder injury. Showing no real signs of any problems, he tied for 38th along with sophomore Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) with 227 tournament totals. Vozza sandwiched three-over 75s around and five-over 77, while Schaetzel sandwiched rounds of four-over 76 around a three-over 75. Schaetzel was among the top 10 individually with 37 pars in his 54 holes.
Other Michigan finishes include: junior Matt McLaughlin (Tucson, Ariz./Millbrook HS [Raleigh, N.C.]), tied 57th at 230 (76-79-75) and sophomore Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS), tied 74th at 235 (78-80-77).
Lamar University used a final round even-par 288 to take home the team title with a 13-over 877 54-hole total (296-296-288), while Southern Mississippi were the runner-up at 884 (298-292-294). Texas-Arlington claimed the third team spot at 893 (298-299-296). Individually, Lamar's Casey Clendenon used a three-under 69 to win medalist honors with a five-under 211 total (71-71-69). Central Florida's Greg Forest (76-72-68) and Southern Mississippi's Jason Cuthbertson (74-74-68) were runner-up at even-par 216s.
With one tournament under their belts, the Wolverines will face one of their biggest challenges of the spring season when the Maize and Blue head to Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Sunday through Tuesday (Feb. 26-27) for the 2006 Puerto Rico Classic. With 18 teams featured, the Wolverines will be pitted against 10 top 25 nationally ranked teams including four of the top five in the country. The 54-hole tournament will have 18 holes played each day at the River Course at the Westin Rio Mar Country Club.
Team Standings
1. Lamar University 296-293-288 = 877 (+13) 2. Southern Mississippi 298-292-294 = 884 3. Texas-Arlington 298-299-296 = 893 4. Louisville 297-301-296 = 894 5. Central Florida 310-294-294 = 898 6. Mississippi 297-301-301 = 899 7. Mississippi State 317-294-290 = 901 8. Furman 304-299-299 = 902 Memphis 295-302-305 = 902 South Alabama 306-289-307 = 902 11. Mercer 308-299-296 = 903 12. Wichita State 313-302-289 = 904 13. MICHIGAN 304-304-299 = 907 14. Nevada 315-299-295 = 909 Davidson College 313-305-291 = 909 16. South Florida 309-300-301 = 910 17. UNC Wilmington 316-307-299 = 922 18. Tulane 332-320-315 = 967
Top Individuals
1. Casey Clendenon, Lamar 71-71-69 = 211 (-5) 2. Greg Forest, Central Florida 76-72-68 = 216 Jason Cuthbertson, Southern Miss. 74-74-68 = 216 4. Daryl Fathauer, Louisville 72-72-75 = 219 5. Dawie VanDerWalt, Lamar 76-74-70 = 220 Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama 75-73-72 = 220 Daniel Burns, South Alabama 77-70-73 = 220 8. Derek Fathauer, Louisville 70-77-74 = 221 Jamie Howarth, Ole Miss 73-72-76 = 221 Will Shambley, UNC Wilmington 78-73-70 = 221 Tyler Hitchcock, South Florida 77-75-69 = 221 Dustin Hall, Nevada 75-73-73 = 221 13. Tyrone Mordt, UT-Arlington 76-76-70 = 222 Josh Oller, Mississippi State 78-72-72 = 222 Kyle Ellis, Ole Miss 74-74-74 = 222 Joel Myrick, Southern Miss. 72-73-77 = 222 Andrew Landry, Lamar 72-73-77 = 222
Other Michigan Individuals
T18. Brandon Duff 77-73-73 = 223 T38. Christian Vozza 75-77-75 = 227 T38. Tim Schaetzel 76-75-76 = 227 T57. Matt McLaughlin 76-79-75 = 230 T74. Brian Ottenweller 78-80-77 = 235
Q U O T E S
Michigan coach Andrew Sapp
On his overall thoughts about the weekend ... "It was definitely a good outing for us early. We got some good competition in. For us, it is probably just a case of a little bit of rustiness. I was disappointed in the way we finished. The second round was probably the most disappointing. We would have like to see some improvement from that first round. However, we did play well and improved in the third round and that is always nice to see. I would have just liked to see that throughout all three rounds. We did some things are pretty expected after being away for awhile -- a bad drive here, an errant chip there, a shot in the water leading to a double or triple (bogey). We had a lot of doubles and triples throughout this week, not a whole lot of birdies. So that is kind of a sign of the first tournament of the year. But we got to get out there and play and that will only help us prepare for Puerto Rico and to really kick start the spring season."
On getting a tournament under U-M's belt before heading into the stellar field in Puerto Rico ... "This is definitely going to help us. It really can't do anything but help us in the long run. Going to down to Puerto Rico and playing against 10 top 25 teams right out of the gate has always been tough. We scheduled this so that we will be better prepared for when we go down there."
N O T E S
Michigan led the entire tournament field with 176 total pars. Brandon Duff led all individuals with 41 pars, while teammate Tim Schaetzel tied for ninth individual with 37 pars.
For the second time this season Brandon Duff has led Michigan in a tournament. In fact both of his U-M tournament top finishing spots were the opening tournaments for the fall and spring seasons. In the fall, Duff led U-M at the Hawkeye Intercollegiate with a tie for seventh (70-71-71/215) and in the spring, he tied for 18th (77-73-73/223).
Christian Vozza returned to the Michigan lineup after missing the final fall tournament -- 49er Collegiate Classic -- due to a shoulder injury suffering in the final round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11, 2005). He had a solid showing tying for 38th individually.
Brandon Duff and Tim Schaetzel remain the only two Wolverines to have started all six tournaments this season.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
