Season Review: 2015-16 Michigan Men's Golf
6/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
• Big Ten Conference: Tie-4th Place
• NCAA Regional: 10th Place
• Record: 77-58-4 overall, 22-17-1 Big Ten
"I'm proud that we have taken meaningful steps forward each year. We've built an important base, and I'm excited for everything yet to come. The goal of Michigan will always be to win championships, and I think our players can see that as a realistic opportunity in the very near future." -- U-M head coach Chris Whitten
Led by the duo of senior Chris O'Neill and sophomore Kyle Mueller, the University of Michigan men's golf team continued its steady climb up the Big Ten ladder as well as within the national scene in 2015-16. The Wolverines posted their best finish in six years at the Big Ten Championships and earned an NCAA regional team bid for the second straight season. Mueller's third-place individual performance at the Big Ten Championships helped Michigan tie for fourth at the conference tournament, and the Maize and Blue finished 10th in NCAA regional action at Vanderbilt's Legends Club to end its season. The Wolverines, who had a pair of runner-up tournament finishes, broke a school record with their 290.21 per round stroke average, and Mueller set the U-M individual scoring record (71.72).
Team Highlights
• Michigan set the program record for team scoring with a 290.21 per round average. The Wolverines averaged 868.56 per 54-hole tournament and shattered the school 54-hole record by 15 strokes with an 824 (-28) total at the MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13), which included a new team single-round record of 272 (-12) in the first round.
• The Wolverines posted a Michigan conference tournament record of 867 (-3) and tied for fourth at the Big Ten Championships (April 22-24) -- the program's best finish in six years. Kyle Mueller earned All-Big Ten Tournament honors after finishing third with a 209 (-7), setting the U-M 54-hole record at the conference tournament by five shots. Chris O'Neill earned his third career top-20 conference tournament finish as he tied for 12th at 215 (-1).
• Michigan finished the regular season with five top-five finishes in nine events, including runner-up placings at the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 27-28), where Mueller and freshman Nick Carlson both tied for third individually, and the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 5-6).
Individual Highlights
• Kyle Mueller set a school record with his 71.72 per round average, becoming the first Wolverine in history to finish a season with an average below 72. A PING All-Midwest regional pick for the second straight season, Mueller became U-M's 17th All-Big Ten first team selection and the first since 2008. He led the Wolverines with 13 sub-par rounds, including a U-M record-tying 64 (-7) in the second round of the MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 12-13).
• Mueller became the first Wolverine to crack 200 in a 54-hole event when he shot rounds of 69, 64 and 65 for a 198 total (-15) and fourth-place finish at the MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13). He set the new U-M standard by four shots, breaking the record held by Bill Rankin (202, -8) at the 2008 Maxwell. Mueller, who was honored as the Big Ten Golfer of the Week for the second time in his career, had two other high finishes in the fall, placing runner-up at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 21-22) and tying for third at the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 27-28).
• Chris O'Neill, who was a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, carried a career-best 72.31 per round average that included 11 sub-par rounds. He fired a season-best 66 twice -- first round of Desert Mountain (March 5-6) and first round of the MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13). Using one of his 66s, O'Neill set a career best for a 54-hole tournament, posting a 204 (-9) tally at the MacKenzie. He finished his career with 20 top-20 finishes in 47 events, including six among the top five. He graduated in May with a degree in psychology.
• Following a highly successful prep career, Nick Carlson started all 11 events and finished third on the squad with a 73.90 scoring average. He had seven sub-par rounds, including a career-best 68 (-3) in the third round of the MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13). Carlson used a career-best 210 (-3) 54-hole total at the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 27-28) to post his best collegiate finish, a tie for third.
• Junior Tom Swanson was one of four Wolverines to start every event this season. He posted a career-best 74.79 scoring average that included four sub-par rounds. He shot a career-best 70 twice -- third round of the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 5-6) and first round of the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 27-28). Using one of those 70s at the Desert Mountain, he lowered his personal-record 54-hole best with a 212 (-4) total to lead U-M for the second time this season.
Coach Chris Whitten (second from left) with seniors (from left) Chris O'Neill, Andrew Yeager and Brett McIntosh
Honors and Awards
Chris
O'Neill
Kyle
Mueller
Bryce
Evon
Tom
Swanson
Andrew
Yeager
PING All-Midwest Regional
Kyle Mueller
Chris O'Neill
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten First Team: Kyle Mueller
Sportsmanship Award: Chris O'Neill
All-Big Ten Tournament Team: Kyle Mueller
Big Ten Golfer of the Week
Kyle Mueller (Oct. 14)
Byron Nelson Award
Finalist: Chris O'Neill
Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA)
Michigan: Team Academic Award (3.0 or better GPA)
GCAA Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar
Chris O'Neill
Tom Swanson
Academic All-Big Ten
Bryce Evon, Jr., business administration
Kyle Mueller, So., sport management
Chris O'Neill, Sr., psychology
Tom Swanson, Jr., sport management
Andrew Yeager, Sr., business administration
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
Bryce Evon
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
Players Mentioned
