Michigan Lands 10th in Fall Finale at Baylor

Tuesday, October 28

Dallas, Texas

8:30 AM CT

Michigan

Royal Oaks Intercollegiate

10/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

Oct. 28, 2014

• Notes & Quotes

Site: Dallas, Texas
Course: Royal Oaks Country Club (par 71, 7,068 yards)
Tournament: Royal Oaks Intercollegiate
U-M Team Standing: 10th Place of 12 Teams (377-372-375/1124)
Top U-M Individual: Kyle Mueller, tie-24th (75-71-76/222)
Next U-M Event: Sun-Mon., Feb. 15-16 -- at Big Ten Match Play Championship (Palm Coast, Fla.)

DALLAS, Texas -- Led by freshman Kyle Mueller's tie for 24th individually, the University of Michigan men's golf team closed its fall season today (Tuesday, Oct. 28) posting a 10th-place finish with a 1,124 team total at Baylor's Royal Oaks Intercollegiate held at the Royal Oaks Country Club.

Playing in its fifth and final fall event, the Maize and Blue closed playing in Baylor's rare 6-count-5 scoring format event, which allowed senior Noori Hyun make his first start of the season. Junior Chris O'Neill opened U-M's scoring Monday morning (Oct. 27) with a team-best, two-over 73. With additions of three 75s -- from Mueller, junior Brett McIntosh and sophomore Bryce Evon -- U-M opened the day with a 377 team total to position itself 11th with Big Ten rival Iowa.

As U-M made its adjustments for the second 18 holes of the day, Mueller capitalized most, tallying his eighth round of par or better this season, carding an even-par 71. With two birdies and a pair of bogeys starting his back nine, he made the turn even par. A bogey on the fourth hole pushed him over par, but his third birdie of the round on the par 3, eighth hole helped him draw even for the day.

With Mueller's round in tow, Hyun's two-over 73 and 76s from McIntosh, Evon and sophomore Reed Hrynewich, the Wolverines improved five shots with a 372 second-round team tally. The effort was good enough to move U-M into ninth with a 749 two-round tally.

In today's final round, Hyun paced the Wolverines effort with a three-over 74 as his three birdies helped negate six bogeys. With three more rounds of 75 -- from O'Neill, McIntosh and Hrynewich -- U-M closed with a 375 total to drop one slot and finish 10th overall with a 1,124 total.

For the fourth time this fall, the Athens, Ga., native Mueller was the top Wolverine, tying for 24th with a 222 total (75-71-76). O'Neill (73-78-75), McIntosh (75-76-75) and Hyun (79-73-74) followed, all tying for 44th at 226. Evon was just a shot back at 227 (75-776), good for a tie for 50th, while Hrynewich tied for 57th at 230 (79-76-75).

With the fall season completed, the Wolverines head into their winter offseason for the next three-and-a-half months. The Maize and Blue returns to tournament competition on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 15-16, when the Wolverines defend their 2014 Big Ten Match Play Championship. The annual conference match-play spring-opening event will take place in Palm Coast, Fla., and be held at the Hammock Beach Resort. The championship matches will be play on the Conservatory Course with the consolations on the Ocean Course.

Final Team Standings

 1. Oklahoma State   356-368-356 = 1080 2. Baylor           356-370-355 = 1081 3. Oklahoma         366-364-354 = 1084 4. Houston          367-371-358 = 1096 5. New Mexico       367-369-363 = 1099 6. Iowa             377-370-360 = 1107 7. Texas Tech       370-369-369 = 1108 8. UT Arlington     376-367-372 = 1115 9. SMU              376-380-366 = 112210. MICHIGAN         377-372-375 = 112411. Minnesota        383-371-378 = 113212. Duke             376-387-372 = 1135

Top Individuals

 1. Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, Baylor     66-70-71 = 207 (-6) 2. Guillermo Pereira, Texas Tech      68-71-69 = 208 3. Jordan Niebrugge, Oklahoma State   68-77-64 = 209 4. Jose Mendez, Minnesota             73-68-70 = 211    Max McGreevy, Oklahoma             73-70-68 = 211 6. Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma          68-73-71 = 212 7. Roman Robledo, Houston             74-70-69 = 213 8. Andreas Gjesteby, Baylor           71-71-72 = 214

Michigan Individuals

T24. Kyle Mueller     75-71-76 = 222T44. Chris O'Neill    73-78-75 = 226T44. Brett McIntosh   75-76-75 = 226T44. Noori Hyun       79-73-74 = 226T50. Bryce Evon       75-76-76 = 227T57. Reed Hrynewich   79-76-75 = 230

N O T E S

• Michigan played the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in the rare 6-count-5 scoring format. Converting it to the modern day 5-count-4 format, U-M's scoring would be been 298, 296 and 299 for an 893 team total.

• Kyle Mueller was the top Wolverine in four of the five fall events, including winning his first collegiate start -- the Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 6-7). He closed the fall with four top-25 individual finishes.

• Kyle Mueller posted eight of his 15 fall rounds at or below par. He led the Wolverines with five sub-par rounds, including a career-best four-under 67 in the first round of the Wolverine Intercollegiate -- his first collegiate round.

• Chris O'Neill started his 29th consecutive event for U-M. He has not missed a start in his three-year career. Meanwhile, classmate Brett McIntosh played in 29th straight event. He has 26 career starts.

• Noori Hyun started his first event of the season. He played as an individual in the season opener.

• In the first round, Brett McIntosh eagled the par-4, 393-yard ninth hole after his 130-yard, 54-degree wedge approach shot rolled in, giving him a two.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On the finale at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate .. "The course had renovations take place this summer so it just reopened three weeks ago. So, the course and conditions were very firm. Add to that we got the strongest winds we have seen all fall during the first two rounds on Monday. I wish we would have adjusted to those conditions quicker, but we definitely learned something this week and we will take those good experiences with us into the break."

On the continued strong play of newcomer Kyle Mueller ... "Kyle has been such a bright spot for us. He has been such a great addition. I think Kyle has played up to his expectations and has earned a great deal of respect from his teammates. Now, I am excited to see where he is going to go as he continues to build on his fall."

On the offseason ... "We are going to get down to fundamentals. It is something we really need at this time. We need to get some guys healthy and get back to the strengths of our games, like we have done in the past."

On an early evaluation of the fall season ... "We are a little bit behind where I hoped we would be, but we are not far out of that position. We have a lot of things we can build on and we have guys with a lot of experience who know exactly what it takes in the spring. We are excited to grow in the offseason."

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423