Michigan
Windon Memorial Classic
Carlson's Final-Round 68 Vaults U-M to Fifth at Windon Memorial
9/24/2018 6:17:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Tallying the third lowest team total of the final round at 286 (-2), Michigan vaulted five positions to finish fifth at Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic.
» Recording one of five 68s (-4) in the final round, Nick Carlson jumped 12 spots individually to earn his first top-10 finish of the season, tying for sixth at 212 (69-75-68, -4).
» Charlie Pilon posted three straight rounds of 73 to tie for 24th (219) and post a second straight top-25 individual finish.
» In the final round, U-M posted 19 birdies and an eagle en route to the season-low 286 (-2) total.
Site: Lake Forest, Ill.
Course: Knollwood Club (Par 72, 7,202 yards)
Tournament: Windon Memorial Classic
U-M Team Standing: 5th Place of 16 Teams (292-293-286/871)
Top U-M Individual: Nick Carlson, tie-6th (69-75-68/212, -4)
Next U-M Event: Sun-Mon., Oct. 7-8 -- at Fighting Irish Classic (South Bend, Ind.)
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Paced by a final-round 68 (-4) from senior Nick Carlson, the University of Michigan men's golf team put together a 286 (-2) team round today (Monday, Sept. 24) and vaulted five positions to finish fifth with an 871 total at Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic at Knollwood Club.
"The guys made some nice putts at the very end of the round today to give us a boost," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "I thought everybody hit the ball very solidly for the whole tournament. We just got a few more putts to drop today. The mistakes I saw this week that held us back from the top of the leaderboard were all very simple. Better lag putting, wedge play and a little bit better awareness on the tough shots will serve us well if we can keep our ball-striking going like this."
After opening the season last weekend at the Northern Intercollegiate in Sugar Grove, Illinois, the Wolverines returned to the Windy City to play in Northwestern's two-day fall event. Carlson led the U-M charge in the opening round with a 69 (-3), while sophomore Charlie Pilon's 73 (+1) helped the Maize and Blue post a 292 opening tally and sit eighth after 18 holes.
After an opening 77, sophomore Henry Spring rebounded to lead the Maize and Blue with a 71 (-1) in the second round. A second 73 (+1) from Pilon helped, but the Wolverines added a shot, posting a 293, and fell two spots to 10th with a 585 36-hole total -- just six shots back of the top five.
With 19 birdies and a Carlson eagle on No. 8, the Wolverines attacked the final round and rallied to post the third lowest closing team round. The fifth-place finish gives the Maize and Blue eight top-five's in 11 Northwestern fall events.
Carlson tallied his eighth career top-10 finish, tying for sixth with a 212 (-4) total. After recording his first sub-70 round of the season -- a 69 (-3) in the first -- missed chances in the second round saw him card a 75 as he stood tied for 18th after the first day. Using five birdies and an eagle in the final round, his 68 (-4) vaulted him 12 spots.
"Individually it was a bit of a rollercoaster," said Carlson. "That was mainly due to the fact that there was a lot of good, a lot of medium and a little bad for me. I saw a lot of things this week to help me going forward. I would say the exact same thing for the team. The way this course was set up, you got to see your flaws very quickly, and we all can walk away knowing what we need to work on. We have two weekends off, and we are ready to get to work. The guys know what they're capable of, and it's up to us to make it happen."
With three straights rounds of 73, Pilon posted his second straight top-25 individual finish as he tied for 24th at 219. After leading U-M a week ago, Spring tied for 39th at 221 (77-71-73), while junior Brent Ito tied for 43rd at 223 (75-76-72) in his first start of the season.
The Wolverines' fall season continues with a visit to Whitten's alma mater, Notre Dame, and its Fighting Irish Classic, Sunday and Monday, Oct. 7-8. The two-day, 54-hole event will be held at Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Indiana.
"I have not been back to Notre Dame in a couple years," said Whitten. "I hear they've made some improvements and changes to the course in preparation for next year's U.S. Senior Open, but the overall style of the course is similar to the course we played this week. The nice final round today will keep our confidence up before then.
Final Team Standings
1. Marquette 291-285-284 = 860 (-4)
2. Michigan State 281-286-295 = 862
3. Iowa State 292-291-285 = 868
4. Northern Illinois 287-288-295 = 870
5. MICHIGAN 292-293-286 = 871
6. South Florida 292-292-288 = 872
7. UCLA 292-282-299 = 873
8. UC Davis 294-290-292 = 876
9. Northwestern 289-293-296 = 878
10. Memphis 289-290-303 = 882
11. Eastern Michigan 291-304-288 = 883
12. Purdue 294-296-296 = 886
Indiana 289-301-296 = 886
14. Southern Illinois 303-294-299 = 896
15. UNC Greensboro 305-303-296 = 904
16. Army 295-306-315 = 916
Top Individuals
1. Thomas Hutchison, UC Davis 64-73-68 = 205 (-11)
2. Tripp Kinney, Iowa State 72-67-68 = 207
3. Oliver Farrell, Marquette 69-69-71 = 209
4. Ryoto Furuya, South Florida 70-70-71 = 211
Ryan Lumsden, Northwestern 67-71-73 = 211
6. NICK CARLSON, U-M 69-75-68 = 212
Timmy Hildebrand, Purdue 66-73-73 = 212
8. Brock Ochsenreiter, Indiana 70-73-71 = 214
Donnie Trosper, Michigan State 71-69-74 = 214
Andrew Walker, Michigan State 67-71-76 = 214
Jack Ireland, UCLA 72-69-73 = 214
Other Michigan Individuals
T24. Charlie Pilon 73-73-73 = 219 T39. Henry Spring 77-71-73 = 221 T43. Brent Ito 75-76-72 = 223 T62. Patrick Sullivan 75-74-79 = 228 89. Taisei Negishi 85-77-80 = 242*
* played as individual
Players Mentioned
