This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Fighting Illini Invitational
9/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Sept. 12-14 -- at Fighting Illini Invitational (Olympia Fields, Ill.)
Live Scoring
Next on the Tee
Fresh off its season-opening win at the 2014 Wolverine Intercollegiate, the University of Michigan men's golf team heads right back out for tournament play with the 2014 Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14, at the prestigious Olympia Fields Country Club North Course in Olympia Fields, Ill. There will be a stellar 15-team field, which features 10 of the nation's top 25 teams from the preseason Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) poll, playing 54 holes over the three-day event. Scoring will be played as five players, count the low four totals. Olympia Fields's North Course will be set up for a par 70 and 7,142 yards.
The Tournament Field
There will be 15 teams competing at OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, including No. 1 Alabama, No. 21 Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Connecticut, No. 17 Florida State, No. 6 Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 4 Texas, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 23 Virginia Tech.
The Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 11 -- Practice Round beginning at 9:54 a.m. CST (tee time)
Friday, Sept. 12 -- First Round (18) beginning at 9 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
Saturday, Sept. 13 -- Second Round (18) beginning at 9 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
Sunday, Sept. 14 -- Final Round (18) beginning at 8 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
The Michigan Line-Up
Michigan will have five members competing at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. Starting for the Wolverines will be junior Chris O'Neill, junior Brett McIntosh, sophomore Bryce Evon, sophomore Tom Swanson and freshman Kyle Mueller.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan continues its fast start to the 2014 fall season, as the Wolverines head to Illinois OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at the Olympia Fields Country Club. Opening with the Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 6-7), the Wolverines will play the first three weekends of September to open the season. U-M closes its three-week stretch with Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic Sept. 21-22.
• Michigan will get a true benchmarking of where the program stands nationally as the 15-team field at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational features 10 preseason ranked teams, including five among the top 10 -- No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Illinois and No. 7 Stanford.
• Olympia Fields was founded in 1915 and was designed by two-time British Open champion Willie Park Jr. It has hosted four major championships in total, two U.S. Opens -- 1928 and 2003 -- and two PGA Championships -- 1925 and 1961. Other events held at Olympia Fields include five Western Opens and the 1997 U.S. Senior Open.
• Michigan opened the season posting 12 of its 24 total rounds at or below par. In fact, U-M had six sub-par rounds at the Wolverine Intercollegiate, led by Kyle Mueller's three, Chris O'Neill's two and Reed Hrynewich's one. U-M averaged 71.92 per round at the season-opening event.
• Chris O'Neill carded a career-best 65 during first round of the Wolverine Intercollegiate, besting his previous career low by one stroke -- 66 shot in the final round of the 2013 Wolverine Intercollegiate. En route to the shooting his best round, he posted four birdies, one eagle and 13 pars on the par-71, 6,704-yard U-M Golf Course.
• Kyle Mueller opened his collegiate career firing a four-under 67 in the opening round of the Wolverine Intercollegiate to set his career best. After parring 11 of his first 12 holes, he closed birdieing five of the final six to set his top round score.
• Bryce Evon opened the 2014-15 season posted a career-best 54-hole tournament total with his 215 (71-71-73) at the Wolverine Intercollegiate. He bested the 217 (73-76-68) he recorded at the 2014 Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 23-25).
• In 25 career events, Chris O'Neill has 12 top-20 finishes, with eight among the top 10 and five in the top five -- including his first individual title, which came at the 2013 Windon Memorial Classic.
• Michigan's roster features two left-handed golfers -- sophomore Brett McIntosh and freshman Reed Hrynewich. U-M's last lefty was Kevin Dore (2004-07).
LAST TIME OUT
Behind the individual title of freshman Kyle Mueller in his collegiate debut, Michigan opened the 2014-15 campaign with a seven-under 845 total and a team win at the Wolverine Intercollegiate, played at the U-M Golf Course. The Wolverines posted team rounds of six-under 278, four-under 280 and 287 to help U-M claim the title by 10 shots over runner-up Penn State. Four Wolverine starters finish among the top 25. [ Full Recap ]
WOLVERINE INTERCOLLEGIATE BITES
• Michigan's team victory at the Wolverine Intercollegiate was the 45th overall in program history and third under current U-M head coach Chris Whitten. It is the 10th overall home victory in 36 events held at the U-M Golf Course.
• Playing in his first collegiate event, Kyle Mueller captured his first medalist honor. The title makes him the sixth Wolverine to capture the individual honor at a U-M home event held at the U-M Golf Course. Overall, it is the 42nd individual title in program history.
• Michigan won both the team and individual title at a home event held at the U-M Golf Course for the first time since the 2005 Wolverine Intercollegiate.
UP NEXT
Sun-Mon., Sept. 21-22 -- at Windon Memorial Classic (Skokie, Ill.)
Mon-Tue., Oct. 13-14 -- at The MacKenzie (Fairfax, Calif.)
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
