Michigan
The Prestige
Sitompul Earns First Top-Five Finish at The Prestige
10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Palm Springs, Calif.
Course: PGA West, Norman Course (par 72, 7,156 yards)
Tournament: The Prestige
U-M Finish: Tie-7th Place of 16 Teams (298-285-296/879)
Top U-M Individual: Alexander Sitompul, tie-4th (74-70-68/212)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., Nov. 5-6 -- at Wolverine at Mission Inn (Howey In the Hills, Fla.)
LA QUINTA, Calif. -- With two sub-par rounds in the final round, the University of Michigan men's golf team posted a 296 final round tally Tuesday (Oct. 10) but slipped one position to tie for seventh with an 879 54-hole total at The Prestige at the PGA West, Norman Course.
After a slow 298 first-round tally, the Wolverine rallied during Monday's second round, carding their second sub-par team total of the season with a one-under 285 total. With 36-holes in the books, Michigan sat tied for sixth with 583 -- just five strokes back of cracking the top three.
With a four-under 68 from freshman Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) and a one-under 71 from junior Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS), the Wolverines inked two strong scores early on the board -- however, U-M could not garner any additional help as it closed with a 296 to tie for seventh with UC Irvine (292-294-293) with a 879 54-hole total. Despite the final round, the Wolverines were able to finish among the top half of the field for the third straight tournament.
Leading the Wolverine charge was Sitompul, who posted his first career top-five finish, tying for fourth with a career-best four-under 212 total. After a first-round 74, Sitompul rallied in the second round, firing a two-under 70 with four birdies to compliment two bogeys. Sitting at even par, Sitompul was tied for 15th after the first 36 holes.
He opened his final round with a birdie on No. 8 before an eagle on the par four 10th hole put him three-under through three holes. He followed with a second birdie on No. 12 before bogeys on No. 13 and 16 put him back to two under. He turned his game up on the final nine holes, going two-under with birdies on Nos. 1 and 7 to help him close with a four-under 68.
Senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel(Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) posted his third top-20 finish of the season as he tied for 19th with a 218 total. After getting off to a strong start with a season-best four-under 68, he followed with his second straight sub-par round -- a one-under 71 -- to sit tied for second after 36 holes at 139. He found a few troubles in the final round as he posted a 79 to close at 218.
Other Wolverine starter finishes included: Pumford, tied for 32nd with a 222 total (81-70-71); junior Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central HS), tied for 75th at 232 (76-78-78), and freshman Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep), who took 80th at 237 (80-74-83).
Overall, Charlotte (281-285-288) took a commanding lead after the first 36-holes and never looked back, taking the team title with a 10-under 854 team total. Co-host Stanford (285-293-284) rallied in the final round to post a runner-up finish at 862, while Central Florida (284-286-299) was third at 869. The Big Ten made its presence felt individually as Minnesota's Clayton Rask (68-68-72) and Wisconsin's Dan Woltman (70-69-69) both tied for medalist honors at eight-under 208. Charlotte's Corey Nagy (73-70-68) was third at 211.
The Wolverines will head south to Howey in the Hills, Fla., to host the 2007 Wolverine at Mission Inn Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 5-6, on the El Campeon Course at Mission Inn. The Maize and Blue normally hosts its fall tournament in Ann Arbor, but this season U-M will take the 54-hole tournament to Florida to close out the fall season.
Team Standings
1. Charlotte 281-285-288 = 854 (-10) 2. Stanford 285-293-284 = 862 3. Central Florida 284-286-299 = 869 4. Pepperdine 287-294-295 = 876 TCU 299-286-291 = 876 6. Wisconsin 292-297-289 = 878 7. MICHIGAN 298-285-296 = 879 UC-Irvine 292-294-293 = 879 9. Colorado 291-295-295 = 881 Minnesota 290-300-291 = 881 11. California 286-297-299 = 882 12. San Diego 287-294-302 = 883 13. Pacific 306-290-296 = 892 14. Denver 289-298-306 = 893 15. UC Davis 298-296-302 = 896 16. Kansas 304-298-295 = 897
Top Individuals
1. Clayton Rask, Minnesota 68-68-72 = 208 (-8) Dan Woltman, Wisconsin 70-69-69 = 208 3. Corey Nagy, Charlotte 73-70-68 = 211 4. Jonas Enander Hedin, Charlotte 69-74-69 = 212 ALEXANDER SITOMPUL, U-M 74-70-68 = 212 6. Jhared Hack, UCF 71-70-72 = 213 David Johnson, UCF 69-71-73 = 213 8. Jordan Cox, Stanford 71-73-70 = 214 Andrew DiBitetto, Charlotte 70-69-75 = 214 James Sacheck, TCU 72-70-72 = 214
Michigan Individual Scores
T19. Tim Schaetzel 68-71-79 = 218 T32. Nick Pumford 81-70-71 = 222 T75. Bill Rankin 76-78-78 = 232 80. Lion Kim 80-74-83 = 237
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
His thoughts from the Wolverines' performance at the Prestige ... "Going into this tournament we knew that the field was going to be strong. We were going to have to play well, especially with a lot of the California teams here. They might not be ranked as high as we were, but we were still playing on their home turf. Really, it was fantastic play from Alexander (Sitompul). Tim (Schaetzel) played great the first two rounds. Nick (Pumford) played great in the second two rounds. So, we were a little up and down. Bottom line is, unfortunately, we had to count a lot of scores around 78, 79 and 80. We had a lot of individual rounds under par this week, which is exciting, but we also had three rounds of 80 or more. Those are the type of scores that hurt. Like any tournament there were a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. We will just keep trying to learn from the negatives and build on the positives."
Freshman Alexander Sitompul
His thoughts about his play at the Prestige ... "I fought hard all tournament. I really didn't putt that well in the first round, but I just kind of kept going and going. It was nice to have 36 holes on that first day because I basically put it all together. I just capped it off in the final round. It was just about being resilient."
On the adjustments he made from the first to the final round ... "I just tried to stay patient. You can see I had five birdies in the first round, but still shot a 74. I was a bit reckless on some of the holes. So after that I just held back on the right shots and stayed patient. Something I have continued to work on."
N O T E S
Michigan's second round one-under 285 team total was U-M's third best output of the season. It is Michigan's second team round of the season under par. U-M's season best is a one-under 283 in the first round of the Wolf Run Intercollegiate (Sept. 22-23).
Michigan posted a total of six sub-par rounds at The Prestige. The Maize and Blue now stand at 18 under par rounds for the season.
For the second straight tournament, Alexander Sitompul closed as the top finishing Wolverine. He closed The Prestige with a career-best four-under 212 54-hole tournament total. Sitompul tied for 22nd with teammates Lion Kim and Brian Ottenweller at the Windon Memorial Classic (Oct. 7-8).
Alexander Sitompul posted his first career top-five finish after he tied for fourth at The Prestige. It is his second top-10 finish of the season, as he tied for seventh at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate.
For the second time this season a Wolverine closed a tournament with a sub-par number. Alexander Sitompul's four-under 212 at The Prestige was not only a career-best, but a team-best 54-hole total for the Wolverines this season. It topped the three-under 210 Nick Pumford shot when he took medalist honors at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate.
Michigan posted 47 total birdies during the 54 holes of The Prestige. Alexander Sitompul led the Wolverines with 13 birdies -- in addition to an eagle on the par four No. 10. Both Tim Schaetzel and Nick Pumford tallied 11 birdies, while Bill Rankin had seven and Lion Kim had five.
Tim Schaetzel's first round four-under 68 was a season-best single round tally. It topped the one-under 70 he had in the second round of the Wolf Run Intercollegiate.
Tim Schaetzel posted 11 birdies and one eagle during The Prestige. He closed the 54-hole tournament playing the front nine at two-under par with six birdies and an eagle on the par five No. 2.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
