Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Rankin Posts Best Individual Finish at Big Tens Since 1999
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: East Lansing, Mich.
Course: Forest Akers, West Course (par 72, 7,013 yards)
Tournament: 2008 Big Ten Championships
U-M Standing: 5th Place of 11 Teams (296-302-298-298/1194)
Top U-M Individual: Bill Rankin, third (69-75-71-70/285)
Next Event: Saturday-Sunday, May 10-11 -- at the Maxwell (Ardmore, Okla.)
EAST LANSING,Mich.--Led by a three-under 285 championship total from junior Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central), who finished third individually -- the best U-M finish since 1999 -- the University of Michigan men's golf team had its best Big Ten Championships finish in a decade with a fifth-place 1,194 72-hole conference tournament total at Forest Akers West Course.
After opening the championships with team tallies of 296 and 302, the Wolverines sat in seventh after the 36-holes. In the third round, Rankin's one-under 71 led the Wolverine charge, as Michigan rebounded with a 298 total to move up one spot to sixth with 18 holes remaining. Rankin's final round two-under 70 helped the Maize and Blue post it second straight 298 total to move up a final spot to close fifth with an 1194 72-hole championship total. The fifth-place showing is the best for U-M since the 1998 championship when the Maize and Blue posted an identical fifth-place finish and 1,194 tournament total.
Rankin led the Wolverine charge all championship long, closing with a career-best three-under 285 72-hole total and a third place showing. Posting three of his four rounds under par helped him post the best finish for a Wolverine since Michael Harris tied for medalist honors at the 1999 conference championship. Rankin opened with a season-best-tying three-under 69 in the first round, but ran into trouble in the second firing a 75 putting him tied for seventh after the first day of play.
Rebounding in the third round, Rankin tallied a one-under 71 to push him into the top five as he was fifth at 54-holes. In the final round, he remained on pace as he closed with a two-under 70 to help him close with a third place showing. In the championships weekend, Rankin tallied four eagles, 11 birdies and 42 pars throughout the 72 holes and earned All-Championship honors with his top-five finish.
Senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel(Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) closed behind Rankin as he tied for 22nd with a career-best 302 72-hole championship performance. Opening with a four-over 76, he rallied in his next two rounds with a three-over 75 in the second round and a two-over 74 in the final round. Schaetzel closed with a 77, but he still managed a top-25 finish and to top his prior best 72-hole total of 305, which he shot at the 2007 championships.
In his conference tournament, freshman Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep) tied for 26th with a 306 72-hole total. He was able to descend the scores through the three days after he opened with a 77 and followed with a 76 during the first day of play. He closed the third round with a three-over 75 and repeated that tally in the final round with his second three-over 75 to close the championships. Junior Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles) and freshman Alexander Sitompul(Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) each closed their first Big Ten Championships tying for 38th with 308 totals. Pumford earned his 308 after rounds of 77, 77, 78 and 76, while Sitompul had rounds of 74, 76, 80 and 78.
Despite closing with a final round 301, host Michigan State was able to hold on for a four-stroke win to claim the 2008 Big Ten title with an 1173 championships total (291-295-286-301). Minnesota rallied in the final round posting the second-best team round of the final day with a 293, but it wasn't enough to catch the Spartans as the Gophers were the runner-up with an 1177 total (293-301-290-293). Illinois (293-288-302-299) closed third with an 1182 total. Indiana's Jorge Campillo used a final round five-under 67 to win medalist honors with a 10-under 278 championship total (69-71-71-67). Michigan State's Ryan Brehm was second just two shots back with a 280 total (72-69-69-70), while Rankin closed third with a 285 total.
With the conclusion of the Big Ten Championships, the Wolverines will wait to see if they will be selected to play in the NCAA Regional. In the meantime, the Maize and Blue will participate in one final tournament before any NCAA postseason play. U-M will head to Ardmore, Okla., Saturday and Sunday (May 10-11) to play in Oklahoma's The Maxwell. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Dornick Hills Country Club. NCAA Regional selections will be made Monday, May 12 at noon.
Team Standings
1. Michigan State 291-295-286-301 = 1173 2. Minnesota 293-301-290-293 = 1177 3. Illinois 293-288-302-299 = 1182 4. Indiana 297-295-293-298 = 1183 5. MICHIGAN 296-302-298-298 = 1194 6. Northwestern 293-291-309-303 = 1196 Ohio State 293-298-313-292 = 1196 8. Wisconsin 296-305-302-296 = 1199 9. Purdue 303-295-311-300 = 1209 10. Iowa 304-305-301-302 = 1212 11. Penn State 299-313-317-302 = 1231
Top Individuals
1. Jorge Campillo, Indiana 69-71-71-67 = 278 2. Ryan Brehm, Michigan State 72-69-69-70 = 280 3. BILL RANKIN, U-M 69-75-71-70 = 285 4. Scott Langley, Illinois 72-69-71-77 = 289 5. Victor Almstrom, Minnesota 73-72-73-75 = 293 Jack Newman, Michigan State 70-74-70-79 = 293 7. Vince India, Iowa 72-74-72-76 = 294 8. David Gersztein, Purdue 70-73-79-73 = 295 9. Clayton Rask, Minnesota 81-75-68-72 = 296 10. Chris DeForest, Illinois 75-73-77-72 = 297 Bo Hoag, Ohio State 75-74-77-71 = 297 Matt Hoffman, Illinois 74-72-78-73 = 297
Other Michigan Individuals
T22. Tim Schaetzel 76-75-74-77 = 302 T26. Lion Kim 77-76-75-75 = 303 T38. Nick Pumford 77-77-78-76 = 308 T38. Alexander Sitompul 74-76-80-78 = 308
Q UO T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the play of Bill Rankin ... "Obviously for Bill it was a tremendous weekend. I am so proud of him and the way he played. He actually -- today -- played with Jorge Campillo, who won after playing an incredible final round. Bill still went out there and played a super round of golf today under the pressure of playing with a guy who ended up winning the tournament. I think that is tremendous for his growth. Am I surprised No. We have always known Bill has the capability of doing that (finishing among the individual leaders at tournaments). He came through in the clutch."
On the play of his Wolverines during the championship ... "Other than Bill's tremendous play, I was disappointed we didn't have anyone else in top 20. That is the different between us finishing fifth and us finishing third, or even better. When you get a player who is in the top three, you hope he has some teammates to back him up a little more than we did. So, in a sense it is disappointing. But is another sense I am relieved. This is probably one of the first times we ended up on the top of the heap of the bunch teams that were bunched together. We had a lot of team's that were a stroke or two behind us -- Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin right on our tails. Fortunately we were able to hold those team's off and pass Northwestern today and that resulted in the fifth place finish. We were hoping to push Indiana a little more. We got off to a great start in doing that, but the middle holes -- around 6 through 11 -- we didn't do so well and that stumped our momentum. We played solid to finish the championship and that helped us get to the top half of the field."
On getting the NCAA regional bid ... "We are excited because our season isn't over. That has been one of our goals from the start of the season. Even though the selection isn't for another week we feel very confident with the year we had and the ranking we have, as well as how we played this week (at Big Ten's), that we will be selected and play in the NCAA regional. Not sure where we will be with all the at-large bids and the new format with committee selections, but we've got a week-or-so to work on our golf games, play at the Maxwell in Oklahoma and then prepare the stretch of NCAA events. I am really look forward to it. It's been a long time coming and hopefully we can play well there and advance."
Junior Bill Rankin
On his championship weekend ... "For me, there was a turning point in the second round. It (my play) was heading in the wrong direction. Despite the good start with the 69, it could have gone either way at that point. I was really uncomfortable with my golf swing and I made a few very uncharacteristic mistakes on the front nine, but there was a turning point in No. 13. It just sparked me. Even though I bogeyed 14, I birdied 13, 16 and eagled 17. I just stayed patient and it finally felt like a moment when being a junior really mattered.
"Heading into the weekend, I felt in control of where my golf ball was going. I knew, especially in the third round, that I could get to a place that would be in contention. That was the goal. I wanted to be there. You always want to have a chance on the last day and I got to four-under and I gave a few back into the wind holes. It was inevitable thing that you are going to make some mistakes out there, it is just how you overcome that and get back from that. So I finished with a couple of pars and I knew I was still in it. Playing with Jorge (Campillo) in the final round I always knew where he was going to be at and as long as I knew where (Ryan) Brehm was, I knew I had a chance. I had to put the pressure on and I hit the ball well early, but I just wasn't able to convert. I was outplayed and he ran away with it. But I couldn't be happier with the way I played."
On his comment about having the moment of being a junior mattering ... "A lot of that has to do with experience. A lot of that is the maturity process. From year to year, I have grown in my game in leaps and bounds both mentally and physically. I remember a few weeks back after Ohio State, I told coach everything in my game feels right and isn't going to be lost. I am not going to lose it in the next two weeks. It wasn't a temporary thing. It felt a lot like last summer. Having the time to play outside and really work on my game has really helped immensely and I just had this feeling that if I stayed patient and used my experience this weekend everything would work out."
On the Wolverines' play this weekend ... "There were some good things and there were some bad things. Overall, it was good to see the last three weeks, even though we have gotten off to poor starts, we haven't moved back on the leaderboard. That is a characteristic we are going to have to have at a regional and hopefully at NCAAs. Other than my under par rounds this weekend, the best score was a 74. Knowing that they can play better is only going to make them better. They know, even though I played well this weekend, they have beaten me in practice and they probably will again. All the guys on this team are committed to practicing hard and improving. It's just a matter of time before we put all the pieces together. We had a good weekend, but we know we have better weekend's in us."
N O T E S
With the fifth-place showing and an 1194 72-hole tournament total at the Big Ten Championships, Michigan had its best team finish at the conference tournament in 10 years. The Wolverines last finished in the top five at the 1998 Big Ten Championships with a fifth place showing and an 1194 total.
Bill Rankin earned All-Championship honors with his third place individual finish at the Big Ten Championships. He was joined by Indiana's Jorge Campillo, Michigan State's Ryan Brehm and Jack Newman, Illinois' Scott Langley and Minnesota's Victor Almstrom as All-Championship selections.
Bill Rankin's third-place individual finish at the Big Ten Championships is the first top three finish for a Wolverine at the conference tournament since former Wolverines Michael Harris tied for medalist honors at the 1999 Big Ten Championships.
Bill Rankin's three-under 285 72-hole total (69-75-71-70) marks the first time a Wolverines broke 300 at the conference championship since Mark McIntosh closed the 2003 tournament with a 10-over 294 total (75-70-71-78). The last sub-290 performance by a Wolverine at the Big Ten Championships was during the 2002 tournament when Andy Matthews closed with a three-under 285 (72-69-70-74)
Bill Rankin tied a season best with his three-under 69 in the first round of the Big Ten Championships. He followed with a one-under 71 (third) and a two-under 70 (fourth) to make him the only Wolverine with rounds under par at the conference championship. With three sub-par rounds this weekend, Rankin now has seven rounds of par of better this season and doubled his career total as he now has 14 during his three years at U-M.
Bill Rankin's three-under 285 total at the Big Ten Championships set a new career-best for a 72-hole event, smashing his previous best mark by 33 strokes. He posted a 318 total at the 2007 Big Ten Championships in his only other 72-hole tournament at U-M.
Tim Schaetzel's 302 Big Ten Championship total set a new career-best for a 72-hole tournament. This year's performance topped the 305 total he had at the 2007 Big Ten Championship.
Tim Schaetzel played in his fourth straight Big Ten Championship, while Bill Rankin made his second appearance. Lion Kim, Nick Pumford and Alexander Sitompul competed in their first conference tournament.
Tim Schaetzel and Bill Rankin are the only Wolverines to have started all 11 tournaments this season. In fact, with starts at the Big Ten Championships, Schaetzel has started the last 38 events for the Wolverines, while Rankin has started the last 22 straight events for the Maize and Blue. In addition, Lion Kim has played in all 11 events this season with 10 starts.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
