Michigan
Wolverine at Radrick Farms
Michigan Takes Commanding Lead at Home Tournament
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: Radrick Farms Golf Club (par 72, 6,979 yards)
Tournament: Wolverine at Radrick Farms (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Standing: 1st Place of 14 Teams (277-278/555)
Top U-M Individual: Lion Kim, 1st (69-67/136)
Final Round: Sunday, Sept. 27 -- host Wolverine at Radrick Farms - Round Three (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With three Wolverines sitting among the top four individually, including junior Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) atop the leaderboard at eight-under par 136, the University of Michigan men's golf team took a commanding 11-stroke lead today (Saturday, Sept. 26) at its only home event of the year at the Wolverine at Radrick Farms.
With the U-M football team hosting Indiana in the homecoming game, the Wolverines normal home course was unavailable. Therefore, the Maize and Blue shifted the 14-team event to its alternate Ann Arbor Course -- Radrick Farms Golf Club. Despite practicing on Radrick about a dozen times a year, the Wolverines showed their course knowledge, tallying an 11-under 277 team total in the first round and following with a 10-under 278 in the second round to post a 555 team score to sit atop the field, 11 shots better that Arkansas (278-288), which closed the first day at 566. U-M was one stroke ahead of Arkansas after round one before posting its 278 -- 10 strokes better than the Razorbacks' 288.
Kim, sophomore Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) and freshman Jack Schultz (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS) led the Wolverine charge in the first day; each is among the top four individually.
Kim used a three-under 69 and followed with a five-under 67 in the second round to take a one-shot lead in the final round with an eight-under 136.
Using back-to-back three-under 69s, the newcomer Schultz is positioned third overall with a six-under 138 total, while Thompson continued his red-hot start to the season, firing his fourth and fifth round under par at 69 and 70, putting him tied for fourth at five-under 139. Thompson has shot all five rounds under par this season, with four sub-70 scores.
Starting his first collegiate event, sophomore Alex Frankel (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) opened with a career-best, two-under 70 and carded a 76 in the second to sit tied for 26th at 146. Freshman Rahul Bakshi (Chandigarh, India/St. John's HS) rounded out the starting five and is tied for 39th at 148 after rounds of 76 and even-par 72.
In addition to the starters, five Wolverines are playing as individuals. Highlighting the day was freshman Miguel Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia/The Columbus School), who was playing in his first collegiate event after walking onto the team. He tied for 39th at 148 after opening with a 76 and firing a career-best, even-par 72 in the second round. After missing the first tournament due to injury, junior Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep Academy [Fla.]) made his season debut and is also tied for 39th at 148 (76-72).
The Wolverine at Radrick Farms will conclude with a final 18 holes on Sunday (Sept. 27) with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start at the Radrick Farms Golf Club. As they did in the first 36 holes, the Wolverines will be paired with Arkansas and Baylor for the second straight day.
Team Standings
1. MICHIGAN 277-278 = 555 (-21)
2. Arkansas 278-288 = 566
3. Baylor 285-289 = 574
4. Louisville 293-285 = 578
5. Minnesota 288-291 = 579
6. Eastern Michigan 291-290 = 581
Iowa State 297-284 = 581
Miami (Ohio) 296-285 = 581
9. Purdue 294-289 = 583
10. Toledo 289-298 = 587
11. Wisconsin 298-290 = 588
Marshall 295-293 = 588
13. St. John's 298-297 = 595
14. Xavier 304-293 = 597
Top Individuals
1. LION KIM, U-M 69-67 = 136 (-8)
2. Bennett Boyer, Marshall 69-68 = 137
3. JACK SCHULTZ, U-M 69-69 = 138
4. MATT THOMPSON, U-M 69-70 = 139
Jordan Elsen, Wisconsin 71-68 = 139
6. Ben Pisani, Minnesota 69-71 = 140
Cody Paladino, Baylor 69-71 = 140
8. David Lingmerth, Arkansas 71-70 = 141
Jamie Marshall, Arkansas 70-71 = 141
10. Justin Dorward, Louisville 71-71 = 142
Nathan Sutherland, Miami 71-71 = 142
Other Michigan Individuals
T26. Alex Frankel 70-76 = 146 T39. Rahul Bakshi 76-72 = 148 T39. Miguel Echavarria* 76-72 = 148 T39. Alexander Sitompul* 76-72 = 148 T53. Michael Slovitt* 77-73 = 150 T69. Billy McKay* 78-76 = 154 T73. Ross Millman* 79-77 = 156
* playing as individual
NOTES
• Michigan's first-round, 11-under 277 is a season best and the first team tally under par this season. It also equals U-M's second-best team round in a tournament; U-M had a 277 in the first round of the 2005 Wolverine Intercollegiate. The all-time record is 275, which has been tallied three times over the last four seasons.
• Michigan fired 10 of the first 20 rounds of the Wolverine at Radrick Farms at or under par with seven sub-par rounds and five under 70.
• Matt Thompson continued his red-hot streak to start the season as he has yet to shoot a round over par. In five rounds this season, he has four sub-70 rounds.
• After playing three over on his first nine holes of the first round, Jack Schultz rebounded with seven birdies in his final nine to post a career-best thr,ee-under 69. He then equaled the feat in the second round, carding a second three-under 69. The tally is the first sub-par round of his collegiate career.
• In his first collegiate start, Alex Frankel shot a two-under 70 in the first around to set a new career best for single round. The tally tops his previous best of 74, which he posted in the second and third rounds of the 2008 Wolverine Intercollegiate at the U-M Golf Course.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the first day of the Radrick event ... "It's one of those things that I didn't expect the team score to be 21 under par after the second round by anyone. We had perfect weather conditions and out guys were well prepared for this event. To have three guys in the top four is tremendous. I am not going to say I didn't expect it, but I am definitely pleased by it. Especially to see contributions from Jack (Schultz) playing so well in his second college tournament. Lion (Kim) and Matt (Thompson), yeah, I expect it. They have been playing well for their entire careers, so it isn't a big surprise to see them at the top. It was great to see us get some really good scores from some other guys as well. Alex (Frankel) with his 70 in the first round helped us out a lot and Rahul (Bakshi) shooting 72 in the second round and counting was key."
On staying patient with such a big lead going into the final round ... "There is no game plan change. We just want to go back out there and shoot another low score. We want to play smart. Make birdies when you can make birdies. Hit 3 iron off the tee when you have to hit 3 iron off the tee. So, the game plan is the same. Play the golf course and just add up the scores at the end of the day. Hopefully, we can continue what we did today."
Players Mentioned
