Michigan
Linger Longer Invitational
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Linger Longer Invitational
3/15/2018 2:29:00 PM | Men's Golf
THIS WEEK
Sun-Tue., March 18-20 -- at Linger Longer Invitational (Eatonton, Ga.)
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• Honors & Awards: 2017-18 | Scholar Story: Kyle Mueller
Next on the Tee: Linger Longer Invitational
Fresh off a runner-up finish at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, the University of Michigan men's golf team will head to Eatonton, Georgia, Sunday through Tuesday (March 18-20) for Mercer and Kennesaw State's Linger Longer Invitational. The three-day, 54-hole event will host 16 teams and be played at the Great Waters at Reynolds Lake Oconee. The course will be set up for a par 72 and 7,073 yards.
The Tournament Field
There will be 16 teams competing at the 2018 Linger Longer Invitational, including -- Akron, Alabama, Augusta, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Georgia, Kennesaw State, Mercer, Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Ohio State, Penn State, Troy, UNC-Greensboro and Virginia.
The Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 16 -- Travel Day
Saturday, March 17 -- Practice Round (18) tee times at 10:20 a.m.
Sunday, March 18 -- First Round (18) begins with tee times at 8:30 a.m.
Monday, March 19 -- Second Round (18) begins with tee times at 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 20 -- Final Round (18) begins with tee times at 8:30 a.m.
The Michigan Lineup
The Wolverines will travel five starters to the Linger Longer Invitational. The starting five will include senior Kyle Mueller, junior Nick Carlson, freshman Charlie Pilon, sophomore Brent Ito and senior Ian Kim.
History at the Linger Longer Invitational
• Michigan will make its third appearance at the Linger Longer Invitational.
• U-M played in the 2008 event and finished 10th in the 14-team field with an 894 (302-296-296) team total. Tim Schaetzel led the way individually, tying for 11th at 217 (74-70-73).
• Last season, U-M was 13th in the 15-team field (280-298-302/880) as Mueller tied for 10th individually (66-71-74/211).
WOLVERINE BITES
• As a team, the Wolverines are averaging 290.12 per team round with five sub-par team totals, which included a season-best 278 (-6) in the first round at Royal Oaks. U-M has four top-five finishes in seven events this season. U-M enters the week coming off its best team finish of the season -- tying for second at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
• Kyle Mueller and Charlie Pilon shared medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. It was the fifth career win, and second straight, for Mueller while Pilon claimed the first of his career. The Wolverine duo both tallied 212 (-4) as Mueller bookended rounds of 71 (1) around a 70 (-2) while Pilon opened with a career-best 69 (-3) followed with rounds of 73 and 70 (-2).
• Mueller, who has six straight top-12 finishes, has won back-to-back events after tying for the victory at the Desert Mountain with a 212 (-4) tally, while he rallied in the final round of the Southwestern Jones Invitational with a 208 (-8) total. Overall, it was the fourth and fifth wins in his career, as he is one away from tying Michael Harris' U-M record of six. After his victory at the Southwestern, Mueller was named the Big Ten's Golfer of the Week for the first time this season and for the fifth time in his career.
• Mueller has moved into the top-10 in the individual rankings by GolfWeek for collegiate golfers. He is currently (March 12) ranked eighth in the country with a 68.71 rating. Mueller is the top-rated Big Ten player and one of just two in the top 50 -- Illinois' Nick Hardy (No. 35) [ Rankings ]
• Earlier in the spring, Mueller was named the award recipient for the David Toms Overcoming Adversity Award. He is now on the watch list for two top awards -- the 2018 Byron Nelson Award presented by Srixon Golf & Cleveland Golf as well as the 2018 Haskins Award. [ David Toms Award ]
• With his expected start in the Linger Longer Invitational, Kyle Mueller will have started 46 straight tournaments -- not missing an event in his career. He played in 13 events as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore and 13 as a junior. In addition, Nick Carlson has yet to miss a tournament in three seasons, starting 32 consecutive events.
• Saying Mueller's final season has continued to be special would be an understatement. After leading U-M in five of the seven events with six sub-par performances, he is averaging 69.47 per round average. In fact, 14 of his 17 rounds have been under-par with seven sub-70 rounds -- including a U-M record 63 (-7) carded in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. Mueller has recorded 55 sub-par scores in 116 rounds.
• Adding to his list of records at Michigan, Mueller became the first Wolverine to shoot 63 (-7) snapping the record of 64 held by four Wolverines, including Mueller himself. All five of U-M's top rounds of all time were recorded in the fall as well as in the second round of each event. In Mueller's record round, he recorded eight birdies, one bogey and nine pars which saw a final-round 10-foot birdie putt for the record.
U-M's Top 5 Single Rounds
63 (-7), Kyle Mueller at 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-10)
64 (-7), Kyle Mueller at 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 12-13)
64 (-8), Bill Rankin at 2008 Bridgestone Intercollegiate (Oct. 27-28)
64 (-7), Christian Vozza at 2005 Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11)
64 (-7), Michael Harris at 1998 Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19)
• The list of Mueller's honors at Michigan continues to grow. With his latest record of U-M's top single-round tally of 63 (-7) he now holds eight outright records in the annals of Michigan golf history.
Mueller's List of Michigan Records
• U-M single-season scoring: 71.36 (2016-17); only Wolverine in history to post sub-72 average
• U-M season scoring (by class): freshman (72.56), sophomore (71.72) and junior (71.36)
• U-M single-round: 63 (-7) in the second round at the 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-10)
• U-M 36-hole tournament: 135 (68-67, -7) at the 2017 Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19)
• U-M 54-hole tournament: 198 (69-64-65, -15) at 2015 The MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13); first Wolverine to post sub-200 tournament total
• U-M 54-hole Big Ten Tournament: 209 (-7) at the 2016 conference championships
• Like a repeating scene, Michigan was led by Mueller and Carlson have finished as the top two Wolverines in four of the seven events this season. In the three seasons together, the Maize and Blue duo has finished as the top two in 12 of 30 events. So far this season, Mueller has led U-M in four events, with Carlson adding one.
• Behind Kyle Mueller (69.47) and Nick Carlson (72.59), the Wolverines are jam-packed with five Wolverines all averaging within a half-stroke of each other. Charlie Pilon leads the pack with a 74.36 average, while Connor Prassas (75.57), Brent Ito (75.60), Ian Kim (76.06) and Henry Spring (76.29).
INSIDE THE MAIZE AND BLUE
• Michigan made its third straight NCAA regional appearance as a team in 2016-17, finishing 10th at the Washington Regional. Kyle Mueller led the Wolverines, tied for eighth individually and missed advancing to his second NCAA Finals by a single shot.
• Mueller earned his third straight All-Big Ten selection and second first-team accolade in 2016-17. He became the second Wolverine in program history to earn three All-Big Ten honors, joining Michael Harris, who was a three-time first teamer (1998-2000). Mueller has second-team honors as a freshman (2015) and back-to-back years of first-team selections (2016, 2017).
• In addition to his Big Ten honor, Mueller garnered PING All-America honorable mention from the Golf Coaches Association of America, becoming the 10th Wolverine to earn an All-America accolade and the first in six years (2011).
• Mueller and Carlson competed at the 2017 U.S. Amateur in California. Mueller made his third straight appearance and advanced to match play for the second time, reaching the round of 32. Carlson made his second straight trip after his remarkable run to the Final Four in 2016.
UP NEXT
• Sat-Sun., April 7-8 -- The Aggie Invitational (Bryan, Texas)
• Sat-Sun., April 14-15 -- Boilermaker Invitational (West Lafayette, Ind.)
Players Mentioned
