Season Preview: 2018-19 Michigan Men's Golf
9/11/2018 1:55:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Michigan returns four of its five starters from its Big Ten Championships roster and welcomes two newcomers.
» U-M will be led by senior Nick Carlson, who has 34 career events under his belt -- more than doubling the next closest Wolverine.
» U-M coach Chris Whitten signed two for the incoming freshman class -- Michigan's Mr. Golf Patrick Sullivan and Austin, Texas native Ben Dunne.
» Michigan has made an NCAA Regional appearances the last five seasons with two individual invites and three team invites.
» The Wolverines will play four fall tournaments and have six regular-season spring events leading up to the Big Ten Championships and NCAA postseason.
The 2018-19 University of Michigan men's golf team begins its eighth season under coach Chris Whitten and is looking for its sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance. The Wolverines will open the season Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 15-16) at the Northern Intercollegiate at the prestigious Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
"I'm excited for this group to take a big step forward and to add two hungry new players. Looking forward, what I love most about this year's team is their desire to do the little things correctly to set a high standard. They really believe that the quality of their preparation will determine their level of success and they take it personally. The challenge in front of us is to remain focused on our process while quickly bouncing back when necessary." -- U-M coach Chris Whitten
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan will look to replace two-time All-American Kyle Mueller in 2018-19, using a balanced roster with one senior, two juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
• Michigan made its fifth straight NCAA regional appearance last season and will look to earn its fourth team bid in the last six years. Last year, Mueller won the 2018 Columbus Regional as an invited individual advancing to the NCAA Finals for the second time in his career. U-M's last team appearance was a 10th-place finish at the Washington Regional in 2017.
• Lone senior Nick Carlson will look to rebound in his final season after battling a shoulder injury during his junior campaign. After starting 32 straight events, the injury forced him to withdraw from the Linger Longer Invitational (March 18-20) and miss the Aggie Invitational last season. He returned for the final two events, but showed signs of not being 100 percent.
• After an up-and-down start to the fall season last year, sophomore Charlie Pilon turned a corner after he tied for medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate with a career-low 212 (-4) 54-hole tournament total. Combined with that event, and in the four subsequent, he recorded all five of his sub-par rounds of the season -- including a career-best 67 (-3) in the first round of the Big Ten Championships.
Roster Breakdown
"I love the balance that our roster is starting to show. We don't rely on the same one or two players every week, which is good from a team standpoint. We'll have contributions from every class on the team, and I have not been able to say that consistently enough. Nick (Carlson) is our most accomplished returner with the most "big game" experience. Brent (Ito) has come a long way in his preparation and attitude, and he expects to be a leader on and off the course. Henry (Spring) and Charlie (Pilon) improved at a fierce rate last year and I have high expectations for them. Our freshmen, Patrick Sullivan and Ben Dunne, are both very talented guys who have the ability to make big impacts immediately if they can get settled to the pace and routine of their new student-athlete lives on campus. We'll really push our limits to see what we can accomplish this year." -- U-M coach Chris Whitten
• Nick Carlson will look to provide a veteran presence for the Wolverines this season. Last season, he finished with a 73.35 strokes-per-round average -- second on the team -- and started 10 events. He posted a career-best 36-hole tournament total (138) at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19), and added a new career-low for a 54-hole event with a 207 (-6) at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 23-24), where he posted a season-best tie for third individual finish.
• Last season, Brent Ito started eight of 10 events in his second campaign and averaged 75.81 per round. He led the Wolverines at the Big Ten Match Play Championships (Feb. 9-10) with a 2-1-1 record. He highlighted his season in his final event with a career-low 67 (-3) in the second round and 217 54-hole tournament total at the Big Ten Championships (April 27-29).
• U-M's "Down Under Duo" of Charlie Pilon and Henry Spring gained valuable experience a year ago. Pilon started nine of his 10 events and was third on the Wolverines with a 74.24 per-round average. He won his first collegiate event, tying with Kyle Mueller at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 3-4). Spring started seven of his nine events and sported a 75.41 average. He closed his season with a career-best tie for 10th at the Big Ten Championships, which included a career-low 69 (-3) in the second round.
• Connor Prassas will look to have a breakout season after starting four of his six events as a freshman. Averaging 75.57 per round, posting three rounds under par -- including a career-low 68 (-3) in the second round of the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate.
• Newcomer Patrick Sullivan joins the Wolverines after closing his high school career as Michigan's Mr. Golf. After a dramatic two-hole playoff to win the individual title at the Division I State Finals, his medalist honor helped Grosse Pointe South to the state crown by 19 shots and after two straight years as the runner-up. Classmate Ben Dunne looks to make an impact as well after helping his high school -- Cedar Park -- to a Class 5A runner-up finish in 2017 and a third-place finish in 2018.
2018-19 Schedule
• The Wolverines' fall season is comprised of four events beginning with a pair in the Windy City. The season begins with the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 15-16) at the famed Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course in Sugar Grove, Illinois -- host site of the 2016 NCAA Championships. U-M follows up with a trip to Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 23-24) -- an event at which the Maize and Blue have four straight top-three team finishes and two individual titles during that span. This year's event will be held at the Knollwood Club in Lake Forest, Illinois.
• In October, the Wolverines will head to Coach Whitten's alma mater (Notre Dame) for the Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 7-8) at the Warren Golf Club. After the fall closes with a fifth straight visit to Baylor's Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 22-23) in Dallas, Texas, at the Royal Oaks Country Club.
• Following the winter break, Michigan opens the spring season's six-event slate with the annual Big Ten Match Play Championship (Feb. 8-9) at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. The match play event has continued to serve as an opportunity to prep for the format at the NCAA Finals. A week later, U-M returns to Florida for the Gator Invitational (Feb. 16-17) at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville.
• For a fifth straight year, the Wolverines will host the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 9-10) during their spring break training trip on the Outlaw Course at the Desert Mountain Result in Scottsdale, Arizona. U-M was the runner-up last year, while Wolverines Kyle Mueller and Charlie Pilon were co-champions.
• The spring season will end with trips to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the Tar Heel Intercollegiate (March 23-24), to Bryan, Texas, for the Aggie Invitational (April 6-7) and to West Lafayette, Indiana, for Purdue's Boilermaker Invitational (April 13-14).
• The postseason will begin with the Big Ten Championships (April 26-28), to be held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Philadelphia, will mark the third neutral site location for the conference championship. A few weeks later, the NCAA Regional (May 13-15) begins with six sites -- Louisville, Stanford, Georgia, Washington State, Coastal Carolina and Iowa State.
• The 2019 NCAA Finals will be held at the Blessings Golf Club (May 24-29). Hosted by Arkansas and the NCAA, the qualifying teams will play 54 holes of stroke play before the first team cut. Following a final 18 holes to determine the individual champion, the top eight teams will advance to match play to compete for the national title.
Players Mentioned
