Michigan
Northern Intercollegiate
Mueller's Final-Round 67 Guides U-M to Fifth at Northern Intercollegiate
9/25/2017 4:55:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With a final-round 285 (-3), Michigan posted an even-par 864 54-hole event total to finish fifth at the Northern Intercollegiate held at Rich Harvest Farms.
» Senior Kyle Mueller used a bogey-free final round to tie his season best with a closing 67 (-5) to lead U-M, tying for eighth individually at 212 (71-74-67, -4).
» Junior Nick Carlson followed Mueller for a second straight event, tying for 23rd at 217 (71-73-73, +1)
» In his first collegiate start, freshman Henry Spring tied for 30th at 219 (77-70-72).
» U-M posted its second and third sub-par team totals of the season with a 284 (-4) in the second round and 285 (-3) in the final.
Site: Sugar Grove, Ill.
Course: Rich Harvest Farms (Par 72, 7,253 yards)
Tournament: Northern Intercollegiate
U-M Team Standing: 5th Place of 12 Teams (295-284-285/864, E)
Top U-M Individual: Kyle Mueller, tie-8th (71-74-67/212, -4)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., Oct. 9-10 -- Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Vestavia Hills, Ala.)
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. -- Paced by senior Kyle Mueller's bogey-free final-round 67 (-5) and top-10 individual finish, the University of Michigan men's golf team used a 285 (-3) team total today (Monday, Sept. 25) to tally an even-par 864 event total and finish fifth at Northern Illinois' Northern Intercollegiate held at Rich Harvest Farms.
"Just looking at the results alone, I would say this was a frustrating week for us," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "We fell behind in the first round; however, I was happy to see the guys chip away and climb back up the leaderboard in rounds two and three. This course forced the guys to play to the correct side of the hole with a detailed plan. We definitely made some mistakes, but that's how we will learn and get better."
After opening yesterday's 36-hole day with a 295 tally, U-M rallied with senior Ian Kim's 67 (-5) and freshman Henry Spring's 70 (-2) in the second round, dropping 11 shots for a 284 (-4) and closing the day tied for sixth.
Using Mueller's 67 and Spring's even-par 72 in the final round, the Wolverines posted their third red team tally of the season at 285 (-3) to get to even par for the tournament and earn their second straight top-five team of the fall.
Once again, Mueller guided the Wolverines, posting his second straight top-10 fall season individual finish with a tie for eighth at 212 (-4). After producing his third straight sub-par round of the season at 71 (-1) to start the event, small misses added up in the second as he carded a 74 and found himself tied for 23rd in the 72-player field. In today's finale, he dominated all four of Rich Harvest's par 5s, birdieing each one while adding a fifth birdie to close with his second bogey-free 67 (-5) of the season and vault 15 spots into the top 10.
"I struck the ball well all day today and gave myself birdie looks on pretty much every hole," said Mueller. "I didn't make many putts; however, I took advantage of all the reachable par 5s and it paid off. Overall, we played really well as a team in the final round, we just couldn't get the putts to drop. We showed a lot of grit and really grinded out there the whole day. We are looking forward to a week off to clean up some areas of our game and prepare for Old Overton."
"It was great to see Kyle give us a spark in the final round, and it could've been a lot lower," said Whitten. "He has found a great groove for his swing with (assistant coach) Patrick (Wilkes-Krier), and we will aim to keep that going."
Following Mueller once again was junior Nick Carlson (71-73-73), who posted his fourth straight top-25 individual finish dating back to last season, as his 217 (+1) total tied him for 23rd. In his first collegiate start, Spring rebounded from his nervous 77 with rounds of 70 (-2) and 72 (E) to tie for 30th at 219, along with teammate Kim (79-67-73). Rounding out U-M's starting five, freshman Connor Prassas tied for 63rd at 231 (76-80-75).
Two Wolverines competed as individuals. Sophomore Brent Ito played in his first event in over a year and tied for 41st at 222 (74-76-72) while freshman Charlie Pilon was 50th at 224 (76-75-73).
"Others in the starting lineup had some brilliant moments but mistakes as well so there's a lot to build on and learn from," added Whitten. "Charlie and Brent also turned in some solid rounds as individuals, so I like our depth and I'm looking forward to seeing some more competition at home before Alabama."
The Wolverines return to Ann Arbor for two weekends before heading to Alabama's Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 9-10, at the Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. It will be the second straight invitation for the Maize and Blue to the Crimson Tide's event after finishing eighth last year.
Final Team Standings
1. Marquette 274-272-286 = 832 (-32) 2. Virginia 277-291-277 = 845 3. Iowa State 286-291-283 = 860 4. Purdue 286-289-287 = 862 5. MICHIGAN 295-284-285 = 864 6. Northern Illinois 283-293-293 = 869 7. Illinois State 281-299-290 = 870 8. Grand Canyon 295-301-278 = 874 9. Wisconsin 294-286-297 = 877 10. Louisiana-Monroe 290-291-297 = 878 11. Eastern Kentucky 297-290-294 = 881 12. Loyola-Maryland 285-294-308 = 887
Top Individuals
1. Oliver Farrell, Marquette 66-65-71 = 202 (-14)
Ashton Poole, Virginia 65-70-67 = 202
3. Hunter Eichhorn, Marquette 71-65-71 = 207
4. Thomas Walsh, Virginia 68-74-67 = 209
Denzel Ieremia, Iowa State 72-71-66 = 209
Austin Kendziorski, Marquette 64-72-73 = 209
7. Brian Carlson, Purdue 70-70-70 = 210
8. KYLE MUELLER, U-M 71-74-67 = 212
Thomas DeMarco, Northern Illinois 65-75-72 = 212
David Rauer, Illinois State 67-72-73 = 212
Ethan Wall, Loyola-Maryland 66-71-75 = 212
Jason Hong, Purdue 70-72-70 = 212*
Other Michigan Individuals
T23. Nick Carlson 71-73-73 = 217 T30. Ian Kim 79-67-73 = 219 T30. Henry Spring 77-70-72 = 219 T63. Connor Prassas 76-80-75 = 231 T41. Brent Ito 74-76-72 = 222* 50. Charlie Pilon 76-75-73 = 224*
* playing as individual
• Day 1 Results
Players Mentioned
