Michigan
Little Rock Invitational
Career Effort from Kim, Three in Top-15 Help Michigan Close Fall Season in Eighth in Little Rock
10/18/2022 6:01:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With a final team total of 305, Michigan posted an 884 54-hole total to close its fall season in eighth place at the Little Rock Invitational played at the Chenal Country Club.
» Playing as an individual, Jude Kim used a career-low-tying 67 (-5) to post his first sub-par 54-hole total (213, -3) and his first career top-five finish (4th).
» Hunter Thomson posted his third top-10 finish of the fall, tying for sixth with his 215 (72-70-73, -1) total. Will Anderson etched his fourth straight top-20 individual finish, tying for 14th with a 217 (70-73-74, +1).
» U-M has finished its four-event fall season and will return to action in 2023.
Site: Little Rock, Ark.
Tournament: Little Rock Invitational
Course: Chenal Country Club, Founders Course (Par 72, 7,115 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 8th Place of 16 Teams (289-290-305/884)
Top U-M Individual: Jude Kim, 4th (75-71-67/213, -3); played as individual
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat. (Feb. 3-4), at Big Ten Match Play (Palm Coast, Fla.)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- With a career event from individual junior Jude Kim and top-15 finishes from sophomore Hunter Thomson and junior Will Anderson, the University of Michigan men's golf team used an 884 54-hole total to finish eighth today (Tuesday, Oct. 18) in the fall finale -- the Little Rock Invitational at the Chenal Country Club.
"Similar to the rest of the fall, a couple small stretches derailed us," said U-M head coach Zach Barlow. "We have worked a lot on self image. You have to believe in order for it to happen and sometimes our belief just isn't there consistently. When things are good, we are good, but when things get tough we are going to have to get better or we will keep having mediocre finishes. We have a big winter ahead and a lot of positives to build on both on the course and with our new indoor green going in at the facility. I can't wait to see how we open up in the spring."
Heading to Little Rock for the final event of the fall, the Wolverines opened with a 289 (+1) team total, paced by a 70 (-2) from Anderson and an even-par 72 from Thomson. Battling the clock and darkness for the second round, Thomson etched a 70 (-2), redshirt-junior Ben Hoagland had a 71 (-1) and Anderson added a 73 (+1) as U-M finished the second round with a 290 and positioned itself fifth with a 576 36-hole total.
Returning for the final round, Thomson (73, +1) and Anderson (74, +2) paced the Maize and Blue, however, the Wolverines came home with a 305 to drop three positions and finish eighth with an 884 total -- snapping its three-event streak of top-five finishes.
With his third sub-par 54-hole finish of the fall, Thomson guided the Wolverines as he tied for sixth with a one-under 215 (72-70-73) finish. With that finish, he closed the fall among the top eight in three of his four tournaments played. Anderson was right behind Thomson, tying for 14th at 217 (70-73-74) and recording his fourth straight top-20 individual finish of the fall.
Little Rock belonged to Kim, however, who was playing as U-M's individual. After opening with a 75, he posted four second round birdies to yield a 71 (-1) and positioned him tied for 28th (146) after the first day. With six birdies and a near clean sheet final round, Kim tied his career-low for a third time with a 67 (-5), which helped him vault 24 spots and finish fourth with a 213 (-3) total record, which marked his first career top-five finish. Kim's total was the second-lowest in his career and first sub-par 54-hole total of his career.
"Conditions changed throughout the tournament and I wanted to stick to my game," said Kim. "I was able to play really well in pretty tough conditions (in the final round). It was very cold and the winds were howling more than we expected. I felt if I just stayed collected throughout the opening stretch, I could take advantage of some of the later holes, which paid off. I was very pleased with my performance. It was a great way to end the fall season."
"Jude was Jude," said Barlow. "It was a tough cold and windy day on the course but he embraced the challenge. He was fired up to play from the get go and it showed. A minus-five today is a big-time score in those conditions. I'm proud of the fight and finish. We need that type of round in the lineup. They will come."
The Wolverines have finished their four-event fall schedule and will now transition into the winter training break. The Maize and Blue will not return to competition until 2023, when U-M makes a return to the Big Ten Match Play event on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 3-4) in Palm Coast, Fla., at the Ocean Course at the Hammock Beach Resort. Michigan, who won the 2014 Big Ten Match Play event, is set to make its return since last playing in the conference's spring starting event in 2020.
Final Team Standings
1. Southern Mississippi 286-286-293 = 865 (+1)
2. VCU 288-281-300 = 869
3. UTEP 292-289-293 = 874
4. Troy 282-287-306 = 875
Louisiana Monroe 287-291-297 = 875
6. Little Rock 300-280-300 = 880
7. Boston College 292-292-299 = 883
8. MICHIGAN 289-290-305 = 884
9. Oral Roberts 293-296-303 = 892
10. UT Arlington 295-295-305 = 895
11. North Texas 299-289-310 = 898
12. Florida Atlantic 300-297-303 = 900
13. Lamar 302-291-311 = 904
14. Kansas City 312-293-301 = 906
15. Central Arkansas 295-303-316 = 914
16. Abilene Christian 300-304-317 = 921
Top Individuals
1. Ryan Dupuy, Southern Mississippi 69-67-72 = 208 2. Mattias Varjun, VCU 68-69-72 = 209 3. Otto Van Buynder, ULM 72-71-69 = 212 4. JUDE KIM, U-M 75-71-67 = 213* 5. Brantley Scott, Troy 66-71-77 = 214 6. HUNTER THOMSON, U-M 72-70-73 = 215 Hugo Hellman Lamar 67-69-79 = 215 8. Jacob Presutti, UTEP 71-72-73 = 216 Rocco Repetto-Taylor, Oral Roberts 73-70-73 = 216 Jacob Agerschou, ULM 69-72-75 = 216 Archie Smith, Little Rock 74-68-74 = 216 Cameron Clarke, Southern Mississippi 72-73-71 = 216 Max Schliesing, UTEP 77-70-69 = 216
Other Michigan Individuals
T14. Will Anderson 70-73-74 = 217 T41. Ben Hoagland 74-71-81 = 226 T49. Yuqi Liu 75-76-77 = 228 T69. Pier Francesco De Col 73-77-83 = 233 * playing as individual
Players Mentioned
