Michigan
Purdue Midwest Shootout
Schaetzel, Rankin Lead Wolverines to Victory at Purdue
9/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Led by senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel(Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) and junior Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central), the University of Michigan men's golf team won the rain-shortened Purdue/Midwest Shootout on Saturday (Sept. 8) at the Kampen Course at Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. The team title is U-M's second under head coach Andrew Sapp.
Heavy rains and lightning shortened what was scheduled to be a 36-hole, one-day tournament. Michigan and Bowling Green finished tied atop the leaderboard at five-over-par 293, and the Wolverines were awarded first place based on a comparison of the fifth player's score for each team. Senior co-captain Brian Ottenweller's (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) round of 79 topped the Falcons' 81 from Russell Goodwin.
Individually, Schaetzel and Rankin were among five players who shared medalist honors after posting one-under 71s. The Wolverine duo shared the title with Bowling Green's Jace Walker and Andrew Ladwig as well as Purdue's Erich Johnston. Freshman Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep) gave the Wolverines three players among the top 10, tying for 10th in his collegiate debut with a two-over 74.
Sophomore Billy McKay(Grand Blanc, Mich./David Leadbetter Golf Academy) tied for 36th with a 77 and Ottenweller tied for 57th with his 79 to round out the scores from U-M's starters. Freshman Alexander Sitompul(Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) played as an individual in his first collegiate tournament and tied for 63rd with an 80.
The Wolverines will waste no time getting back to the course as they head to Toledo, Ohio, to play in the Inverness Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 10-11). The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Inverness Club with 16 top teams from around the Midwest and country.
Team Standings
1. MICHIGAN 293# 2. Bowling Green 293 3. Kent State 296 4. Missouri 301 5. Purdue 302 Northern Illinois 302 7. Murray State 304 8. Eastern Illinois 305 9. Arizona 306 10. Loyola (Ill.) 307 11. Western Illinois 308 SMU 308 13. Rice 313 14. Dayton 314 15. George Mason 320 16. IUPUI 321 # won team title based on the fifth player's score
Top Individuals
1. TIM SCHAETZEL, U-M 35-36 = 71 (-1) BILL RANKIN, U-M 35-36 = 71 Jace Walker Bowling Green 35-36 = 71 Andrew Ladwig, Bowling Green 37-34 = 71 Erich Johnston, Purdue 34-37 = 71 6. Tim Kay, Northern Illinois 36-36 = 72 7. John Hahn, Kent State 36-37 = 73 Jared Steger, Western Illinois 38-35 = 73 David Markle, Kent State 35-38 = 73 10. LION KIM, U-M 38-36 = 74 Tom Ballinger, Kent State 38-36 = 74 Ben Tewes, SMU 36-38 = 74 Kyle Peterman, Western Illinois 39-35 = 74 Jerry Price, Murray State 37-37 = 74 Nakarintra Ratanakul, Purdue 33-41 = 74 Tyler Hillis, Missouri 38-36 = 74
Other Michigan Individuals
T36. Billy McKay 39-38 = 77 T57. Brian Ottenweller 39-40 = 79 T63. Alexander Sitompul 40-40 = 80* * played as individual
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On opening the season with a victory... "Obviously it is real exciting to play so well in the first tournament. Unfortunately, it got rained out and we didn't get to play the full 36 holes, but a win is a win. We still beat everyone except for Bowling Green. I am very pleased with the way Tim (Schaetzel) and Bill (Rankin) played. Obviously, tying for first as an individual is what we need our players to do. We want them to shoot for individual titles; that is only going to help us win team titles. So when you have guys in the hunt for team titles it is always a bonus and it just helps your team shoot some low scores.
"On a golf course that is going to host the national championship, it is nice to get a trophy. So, hopefully, we will be back there in May and maybe even get some hardware then as well. This is such a good start to the season. We are looking forward to going to the Inverness tournament with a win under our belt. Hopefully we will be able to use this to not only continue to play well but to get even better."
N O T E S
Michigan won its first tournament title since 2005, when the Wolverines posted a 11-shot win at their own Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25) at the U-M Golf Course. The title marks the second team title in the six-year career of head coach Andrew Sapp.
It has been 20 years since Michigan opened the season with a team victory. The last time the Wolverines posted a team win in the first tournament of the season was during the 1987-88 season, when the Maize and Blue won the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 10-11, 1987).
Tim Schaetzel and Bill Rankin each won his first medalist honor at Michigan, sharing the top individual spot with three others at Purdue's Midwest Shootout. Schaetzel's previous best was a tie for third at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-17, 2006) and the Nike Purdue Kiahuna Collegiate Invitational (Nov. 22-23, 2006). Rankin's previous best tournament finish was a runner-up effort at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate (March 18-20, 2007).
Tim Schaetzel started his 28th straight tournament for the Wolverines. Bill Rankin started in his 12th straight tournament, Billy McKay started his seventh straight, and Brian Ottenweller started his fifth straight.
Lion Kim and Alexander Sitompul made their collegiate debuts at Purdue's Midwest Shootout.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
