Michigan
Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate
Top 20 Trio Leads Wolverines to Tie for Fifth at Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate
10/4/2021 7:45:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With a second straight sub-par team tally (284, -4), Michigan posted an 857 (-7) total to tie for fifth at the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate hosted by Northern Illinois.
» With its tie for fifth, U-M posted its third straight top five fall finish, the best in six years. The last time U-M started a season with three top five finishes was 12 years ago in the fall of 2009.
» After tying for 10th with a 212 (-4) total, Will Anderson has lead U-M in all three fall events with top 10 individual performances, including back-to-back sub-par 54-hole tallies.
» Patrick Sullivan, who tied for 14th, posted a career-best 54-hole total of 213 (-3), highlighted by his second career sub-70 total with a 69 (-3) in the second round.
Site: Sugar Grove, Illinois
Course: Rich Harvest Farms (par 72, 7,200 yards)
Tournament: Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate
U-M Team Standing: t-5th Place of 12 Teams (290-283-284/857, -7)
Top U-M Individual: Will Anderson, t-10th (71-70-71/212, -4)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Oct. 29-31 -- White Sands Bahamas Invitation (Paradise Island, Bahamas)
SUGAR GROVE, Illinois -- With three Wolverines among the top 20 individually and back-to-back sub-par team tallies, the University of Michigan men's golf team posted its third straight top five fall finish on Monday (Oct. 4). The Wolverines posted an 854 (-7) total to tie for fifth at the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate, hosted by Northern Illinois at Rich Harvest Farms.
"We were close," said U-M head coach Zach Barlow. "Overall it was a solid week however not where we strive to finish. We didn't count a score worse than +1 all week, which shows how consistent we are and really how close we are to breaking out. It was a great total team effort this week, especially with three guys finishing in the top 18. I'm excited about where this program is headed."
After getting off to a strong start in Saturday's opening 18 holes which included playing the front side at two-under, the Wolverines slowed on the back side and closed the day with a 290 tally and tied for eighth. The following day, senior Patrick Sullivan's second career sub-70 tally of 69 (-3) along with sophomore Will Anderson's 70 (-2) and freshman Hunter Thomson's 71 (-1), the Maize and Blue rallied with a season-low 283 (-5) and moved up two spots to sixth with a 573 (-3) two-day total.
A 70 (-2) from Thomson, 71s from Anderson and Sullivan and a strong 72 (E) from graduate student Brendan O'Reilly on Monday helped the Wolverines close with a 284 (-4) total to tie for fifth with an 857 (-7) and post their third straight top five team finish of the fall. The last time U-M strung together three straight top five team finishes was six years ago in the fall of 2015. Michigan has not begun a season with three straight top five finishes since 2009.
"The key for us this week was that we finished strong each round," said Anderson. "Everybody closed out the final round really well, which gives us a lot momentum heading to the Bahamas. It's amazing how important one shot ends up being. Our team is headed in the right direction and sometimes the score won't show that."
Anderson paced U-M for the third straight event with his third straight top 10 individual finish. He tied for 10th with his second straight sub-par 54-hole total, 212 (-4). With three straight sub-par tallies, Anderson has posted six of his nine rounds under par and seven total of par or better.
"I have been asked how good has Will (Anderson) been." said Barlow. "He's been our rock all fall so far. Three top 10's just shows you he is really playing steady and consistent golf. He just keeps learning from each event and getting better every week. The best part is that he's just scratched the surface to how good he can be. We are extremely proud of him."
"This weekend, I didn't have my best stuff tee to green, but I made some big momentum putts to keep the wheels moving in the right direction," added Anderson. "I've been stacking solid weeks together and I need to keep doing that. I'm looking forward to keep building every week."
Following Anderson was Sullivan, who lowered his career-best by two strokes with his 213 (-3) total. After an opening 73, he followed with a season-low 69 (-3) and closed with a 71 (-1) to tie for 14th. Thomson's second straight sub-par 54-hole total of 214 (-2) gave U-M three among the top 20 individually with his tie for 18th.
"It was a good week, always feels good to break par," said Sullivan. "As for the team, we are getting very close. Obviously Will (Anderson) is playing great golf and that's influencing all of us positively. We haven't had a week yet where all five guys have played well, but I'm sure it won't be long. When that happens that will be the difference of finishing fifth and winning."
Rounding out U-M's starting five, O'Reilly tied for 37th at 218 (73-73-72), while sophomore Jude Kim tied for 63rd (224). Playing as an individual, junior Pier-Francesco De Col used a final round 72 (E) to tie for 58th (223).
The Wolverines close their fall season at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas for the White Sands Bahama Invitational hosted by Arkansas Little Rock. The three-day, 54-hole event (Oct. 29-31) is scheduled to be played on the Ocean Club Golf Course.
Final Team Standings
1. Purdue 282-288-273 = 843 (-21)
2. Missouri 284-282-278 = 844
3. Wisconsin 286-283-284 = 853
4. Northern Illinois 279-293-283 = 855
5. Marquette 282-295-280 = 857
Michigan 290-283-284 = 857
7. Nebraska 287-285-286 = 858
8. Minnesota 292-285-285 = 862
Miami (Ohio) 291-287-284 = 862
10. James Madison 286-290-287 = 863
11. Kansas State 290-288-288 = 866
12. Arkansas State 292-294-282 = 868
Top Individuals
1. Herman Wibe Sekne, Purdue 69-70-66 = 205 (-11)
2. Cameron Huss, Wisconsin 71-68-67 = 206
3. Griffin Barela, Wisconsin 70-69-69 = 208
4. Jack Parker, Missouri 71-67-71 = 209
5. Hunter, Eichhorn, Marquette 69-69-72 = 210
6. Yu Ta Tsai, Missouri 69-72-70 = 211
Joe Weiler, Purdue 70-70-71 = 211
Ben Sluzas, Northern Illinois 67-73-71 = 211
Tim Tillmanns, Kansas State 68-71-72 = 211
10. WILL ANDERSON, U-M 71-70-71 = 212
Tom Westenberger, Nebraska 71-70-71 = 212
Luka Naglic, Arkansas State 74-70-68 = 212
Andrew Farraye, Purdue 69-73-70 = 212*
Other Michigan Individuals
T14. Patrick Sullivan 73-69-71 = 213 (-3) T18. Hunter Thomson 73-71-70 = 214 (-2) T37. Brendan O'Reilly 73-73-72 = 218 T63. Jude Kim 75-73-76 = 224 T58. Pier-Francesco De Col 76-75-72 = 223* * playing as individuals
Players Mentioned
