This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: White Sands Bahamas Invitation

» Michigan closes its fall season with a trip to the Bahamas for Arkansas-Little Rock's White Sands Bahamas Invitation.
» U-M has three straight top-five team finishes this fall, including a runner-up finish at the Macdonald Cup.
» After redshirting last season, Ben Hoagland will compete in his first collegiate event as an individual.

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Oct. 29-31 -- at White Sands Bahamas Invitation (Paradise Island, Bahamas)
Live Scoring | Ocean Club Golf Course

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Next on the Tee: White Sands Bahamas Invitation

After three top-five finishes this fall, the University of Michigan men's golf team closes its four-event early-season schedule heading to the Bahamas for Arkansas-Little Rock's White Sands Bahamas Invitation, Friday through Sunday (Oct. 29-31). The three-day, 54-hole will be played at the Ocean Club Golf Course and will have a 12-team field, with teams allowed an individual. The course is scheduled to be set up as a par 72 at 7,159 yards.

The White Sands Bahamas Invitation Field

There will be 12 teams competing at the White Sands Bahamas Invitation, including: Arkansas-Little Rock, Bowling Green, East Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lamar, Lipscomb, Michigan, Mississippi, San Francisco and South Florida.

The White Sands Bahamas Invitation Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 26 -- Travel Day
Wednesday, Oct. 27 -- Practice Round
Thursday, Oct. 28 -- College-Am and Practice Round, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 29 -- First Round (18), 8 a.m. (shotgun)
Saturday, Oct. 30 -- Second Round (18), 8 a.m. (shotgun)
Sunday, Oct. 31 -- Final Round (18), 8 a.m. (shotgun)

The White Sands Bahamas Invitation Lineup

Michigan will travel a five-member starting group and one individual to the Bahamas for the White Sands Bahamas Invitation. The starting five will include senior Patrick Sullivan, sophomore Will Anderson, graduate student Brendan O'Reilly, freshman Hunter Thomson and freshman Yuqi Liu. After redshirting last season. sophomore Ben Hoagland will play in his first collegiate event as an individual.

Wolverine Bites

• Through three fall events, U-M has posted three top-five finishes. U-M opened the year with a third-place showing at the Island Resort Intercollegiate and followed with a runner-up finish at the Macdonald Cup, as Will Anderson won his first career event. Michigan made it three straight top fives after tying for fifth at the challenging Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate. The last time U-M started a season with three top-five finishes was 2009.

• After leading U-M in all three events, Anderson has now finished as the top Wolverine in five of his nine career tournaments. He leads the team with a 70.44 scoring average as six of his nine rounds have been in the red, including a career-best 66 (-4) in the first round at the Macdonald Cup. Additionally, he won his first collegiate event at the Macdonald Cup with a career-best 204 (-6) total. Two of his three fall event totals have been sub-par as he is a combined 10-under par over his last two tournaments.

• Hunter Thomson has continued to improve in his first season with the Wolverines. After a 228 (79-69-80) in his collegiate debut, he was the runner-up to teammate Will Anderson with a 207 (-3) tally at the Macdonald Cup, which included a career-low 66 (-4) in the second round. He backed that up with his second sub-par tally at the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate, closing with a 214 (73-71-70; -2) and tying for 18th. He is second on the Wolverines with a 72.11 average, as four of his nine rounds have been under par.

• Patrick Sullivan has been a steady force in his final season, posting a career-best 72.89 average, which is over two and a half strokes better than any other season best. He has two top-20 individual finishes in three starts and posted a career-low 213 (-3) his last time out at the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate. For his career, he has started all 20 of his events.

• Ben Hoagland will make his collegiate debut as an individual at the White Sands Bahamas Invitation. After redshirting last season during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Reitz Memorial High School (Evansville, Ind.), where he was a two-time qualifier for the IHSAA State Finals.

• With a near three-week gap between events, U-M head coach Zach Barlow created the Wolverine Four-Ball Championship, pitting teammates vs. teammates. In the end, Charlie Pilon and Pier Francesco De Col defeated Patrick Sullivan and Yuqi Liu 3-and-2 to win the inaugural title and team bragging rights.

• After finishing as the runner-up in 2019, Sullivan used a 2-and-1 victory over Eastern Michigan's Tyler Rayman to win the 110th Michigan Amateur Championship at Cascade Hills Country Club this summer. Sullivan becomes the 16th Wolverine to hoist the Staghorn Trophy and is the first U-M golfer to win since Andrew Chapman's title run in 2013. U-M now has 26 overall titles in the state amateur's history.

Next on the Tee

Mon-Tue., Feb. 14-15 -- at Border Olympics (Laredo, Texas)