Michigan
Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
Carlson, Mueller Have Top-15 Showings in Alabama
10/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
» Unlike the last two weeks, Michigan stumbled in the final round, closing with a 291 to finish eighth at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate with an 863 total.
» Nick Carlson (t-9th) and Kyle Mueller (t-13th) paced the Wolverines, finishing among the 15 for third straight tournament. The duo has yet to finish worse than 13th and have two medalists wins this season.
» Brent Ito made his first collegiate start and tied for 53rd with a 227 total
» So far this season, Mueller has posted six of his nine rounds under par and is averaging 70.44 per round, while Carlson has four sub-par rounds and is at 70.77 per round.
Site: Vestavia Hills, Ala.
Course: Old Overton Club (Par 70, 7,024 yards)
Tournament: Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
U-M Team Standing: 8th Place of 12 Teams (290-282-291/863)
Top U-M Individual: Nick Carlson, tie-9th (68-70-72/210, E)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., Oct. 17-18 -- at Dayton Flyer Invitational (Kettering, Ohio)
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. -- Finishing among the top 15 individually for the third straight weekend, sophomore Nick Carlson (t-9th) and junior Kyle Mueller (t-13th) paced the University of Michigan men's golf team today (Tuesday, Oct. 4) to an eighth-place finish with an 863 team total at Alabama's Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate held at the Old Overton Club.
"This tournament was a test for our guys playing in a different region of the country against some very strong teams," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "We had not seen this course before and had some learning to do. We all loved the layout but didn't quite play as well as we expected to. There are definitely some challenging shots, and the course was set up difficult.
"Overall, we just weren't as sharp today as we needed to be, and I think a weekend off to prepare for our next event will be very good for us."
In U-M's third straight fall weekend event, the Wolverines saw Carlson and Mueller both open with 68s (-2), however, the backend of the lineup stumbled out the gates as U-M posted a 290. Heading immediately into the second round, Mueller stayed on pace with a 69 (-1), while Carlson fired a 70 (E). In his first collegiate start, freshman Brent Ito, who tied for 53rd, rallied from an opening 77 to card a 70 (E) in the second and help the Wolverines to a 282 (+2) second-round total, putting U-M sixth after the first day (Monday, Oct. 3).
With the winds picking up in today's final round, the Wolverines were unable to take advantage of the front side, making the turn four over par. Unlike the last two tournaments where U-M dominated the final 18 holes, the Maize and Blue was 11 over on the back nine and posted a 292 to tally an 863 total, dropping two spots to finish eighth.
Closing with a 72 (+2), Carlson led the Wolverines for the second event this year with his second top-10 finish, tying for ninth at even-par 210 (68-70-72). Mueller was just a shot behind with his third straight top-15 finish, tying for 13th at 211 (68-69-74).
"Today was a very tough course with the element of swirling wind, and I think we just happened to not have it today like we did in the other weeks," said Carlson. "We learned a lot from a tough day today, and we'll take that and go to Dayton after a week and some days of refocusing and solid preparation we're going to be just fine."
"Nick and Kyle put themselves in a position to contend and still played solid golf today but could not quite turn the moment in their favor," said Whitten. "Winning is very difficult, and you have to hit your best shots at the right time."
After opening the fall with three straight weekend events, the Wolverines will have two weeks off to prepare for the Dayton Flyer Invitational, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 17-18. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.
Final Team Standings
1. Auburn 284-274-282 = 840 (E) 2. UNLV 283-284-274 = 841 3. Baylor 274-284-289 = 847 4. UAB 285-279-292 = 856 5. Alabama 289-285-284 = 858 6. Arkansas 285-285-291 = 861 7. Charlotte 288-290-284 = 862 8. MICHIGAN 290-282-291 = 863 9. South Alabama 289-289-289 = 867 10. Florida State 291-282-296 = 869 11. Mississippi State 296-283-293 = 872 12. Texas-San Antonio 301-286-299 = 884
Top Individuals
1. John Oda, UNLV 67-72-64 = 203 (-7)
2. Conor Purcell, Charlotte 65-71-68 = 204
3. Lee Hodges, Alabama 70-69-67 = 206
4. Matthew Perrine, Baylor 68-67-72 = 207
5. Will Long, Auburn 70-70-68 = 208
Harry Ellis, Florida State 68-69-71 = 208
Taylor Eyster, UAB 66-73-69 = 208
8. Jovan Rebula, Auburn 68-68-73 = 209
9. NICK CARLSON, U-M 68-70-72 = 210
Jackson Dick, Mississippi State 71-71-68 = 210
Ben Schlottman, Auburn 70-71-69 = 210
Cooper Dossey, Baylor 71-70-69 = 210
Other Michigan Individuals
T13. Kyle Mueller 68-69-74 = 211 (+1) T51. Reed Hrynewich 79-73-74 = 226 T51. Tom Swanson 77-78-71 = 226 T53. Brent Ito 77-70-80 = 227
Players Mentioned
