Michigan
Macdonald Cup
Anderson, Thomson Go 1-2 to Lead U-M to Runner-up Finish at Macdonald Cup
9/26/2021 5:48:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With a 290 final round, Michigan finished as the runner-up at Yale's Macdonald Cup with an 850 two-day total.
» Sophomore Will Anderson claimed medalist honors with a career-low 204 (-6). He is the first Wolverine to win an event in nearly two years.
» Freshman Hunter Thomson followed Anderson, tying as the medalist runner-up with a career-low 207 (-3) tally.
» Playing as an individual, sophomore Jude Kim tied for sixth with a career-low 211 (+1).
Site: New Haven, Conn.
Tournament: Macdonald Cup (Day 2 of 2)
Course: Yale Golf Course (Par 70, 6,795 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd Place of 14 Teams (284-276-290/850)
Top U-M Individual: Will Anderson, 1st place (66-68-70/204, -6)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Mon., Oct. 2-4 -- at Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate (Sugar Grove, Ill.)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- With a 1-2 Maize and Blue finish from sophomore Will Anderson and freshman Hunter Thomson as well as a closing 290 team final round, the University of Michigan men's golf team posted an 850 54-hole total Sunday (Sept. 26) to finish as the runner-up at Yale's Macdonald Cup on the Yale Golf Course.
After a season-opening third-place showing at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, the Wolverines made it two straight top-five team finishes with the runner-up finish at Yale. It marks the first time U-M has had back-to-back top-five team finishes since 2019 and the first back-to-back top-three finishes since 2016.
With a career-low 66 (-4) by Anderson and a 71 (+1) from Thomson leading U-M to an opening 284 (+4) team total, the Wolverine positioned themselves in second after the opening 18 behind host Yale. As Thomson countered Anderson's opening total with a career-low 66 (-4) of his own, Anderson added a 68 (-2), while graduate students Brendan O'Reilly and Charlie Pilon added 71s (+1), U-M remained second (560, E) after the first day following a 276 (-4) -- the ninth lowest team tally in program history.
"It was a fun weekend," said Anderson. "I hit the ball great, and I really stuck to my game plan for all 54 holes. I just kept plotting my way around the course and it paid off.
"It's a great feeling to come out with a win, but what was even better was to see Hunter (Thomson) right behind me. He just played so well this weekend. Adding the runner-up team finish gives us something to build off of."
Lowering his career-best 54-hole total by 12 shots, Anderson won his first collegiate event with a 204 (-6) total. He is the first Wolverine to claim medalist honors since 2019, when Pilon won the 2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. Leading the tournament with 12 birdies, Anderson led the field in par-3 scoring (2.83), posting rounds of 66 (-4), 68 (-2) and 70 (E).
"Will (Anderson) was a flat out stud the entire tournament," said head coach Zach Barlow. "He was in control of his game and emotions for all 54 holes. He's just scratched the surface for how good he could be and I couldn't be more proud he got the win this week."
After lowering his career best by 11 strokes, Thomson followed Anderson's lead at the Yale Golf Course with 11 birdies to post a 207 (-3) tally and tie as the runner-up with Harvard's Brian Ma. Anderson and Thomson's 1-2 finish is the best by a pair of Wolverines since former U-M All-American Kyle Mueller and Pilon tied for medalist honors at the 2018 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
"Hunter had a great week as well,"Â Barlow said. "He is so confident and so steady and mature beyond his years in golf. It was a great bounceback after his first collegiate tournament, and if he continues putting in the effort that he has since he got here, his time in the winners circle could come very soon as well."
Playing as an individual, sophomore Jude Kim helped U-M have three Wolverines among the top 10 as he tied for sixth with a career-low 211 (+1) total -- 14 shots better than his previous career-best 54-hole total, which came at the season-opening Island Resort Intercollegiate. With 11 birdies, Kim opened with his first career sub-70 round at 69 (-1), followed by a second with his 67 (-3) in the second round. Closing with a 75, he posted his first career top-10 finish.
Rounding out the Wolverines starting five, O'Reilly posted his second straight top-25 finish, tying for 21st with a 219 total, while senior Patrick Sullivan tied for 29th at 211. Pilon closed out U-M's scoring tying for 44th (225).
"As a team it's another small step in the right direction, but at the end of the day we have to learn to finish off tournaments better," said Barlow. "We struggled to gain and keep momentum going throughout the day. It was very similar to Island Resort Collegiate. However, this won't deter us from where we are headed. This team is hungry and I look forward to getting back in action next week at Rich Harvest Farms."
Carrying the momentum of the first two fall events, U-M heads back out to tournament competition heading the Sugar Grove, Ill., for Northern Illinois' Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate. The three-day, 54-hole event will be held Saturday through Monday (Oct. 2-4), at the challenging Rich Harvest Farms, which was the host site for the 2018 NCAA Finals.
Final Team Standings
 1. Yale             274-282-290 = 846 (+6)  2. MICHIGAN         284-276-290 = 850  3. Harvard          285-283-290 = 858  4. St. John's       296-287-292 = 875  5. Penn             294-295-287 = 876  6. Princeton        296-283-300 = 879  7. Dartmouth        294-295-291 = 880  8. Fairfield        291-300-294 = 885  9. Hartford         292-297-302 = 891    St. Bonaventure  293-298-300 = 891 11. Bucknell         297-296-301 = 894 12. Colgate          301-293-301 = 895 13. Fordham          296-295-308 = 899 14. Cornell          293-293-315 = 901
Top Individuals
 1. WILL ANDERSON, U-M                  66-68-70 = 204 (-6)  2. HUNTER THOMSON, U-M                 71-66-70 = 207    Brian Ma, Harvard                   70-70-67 = 207  4. Blake Brantley, Yale                70-68-70 = 208*  5. Christian Chapman, St. Bonaventure  67-71-72 = 210  6. JUDE KIM, U-M                       69-67-75 = 211*    Gabriel Ruiz, Yale                  70-70-71 = 211    Teddy Zinsner, Yale                 67-71-73 = 211  9. Jason Liu, Dartmouth                68-73-72 = 213    Mark Haghani, Penn                  71-73-69 = 213
Other Michigan Individuals
T21. Brendan O'Reilly  73-71-75 = 219 T29. Patrick Sullivan  74-72-75 = 221 T44. Charlie Pilon     77-71-77 = 225 * playing as individual
Players Mentioned
