Michigan
Virtues Intercollegiate
Wolverines Head to Ohio for Inaugural Virtues Intercollegiate
9/22/2023 1:15:00 PM | Men's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --The University of Michigan men's golf team heads to Nashport, Ohio, Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 25-26) for the inaugural Virtues Intercollegiate, co-hosted by Miami (Ohio) and Bowling Green. The 17-team field will play 54-holes (36-18) at the Virtues Golf Club.
Notes:
• There will be 17 teams among the field for the Virtues Intercollegiate, including: Bowling Green, Butler, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Eastern Kentucky, Fort Wayne, George Washington, James Madison, Longwood, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, Robert Morris, Wright State and Youngstown State.
• For the third straight fall event, U-M will travel the same five starters to Nashport for the Virtues Intercollegiate. Senior Will Anderson and junior Hunter Thomson head up the starters with redshirt-juniors Ben Hoagland and Jack O'Donnell and junior Yuqi Liu rounding out the five. Freshman Jason Gordon will travel and play as an individual for the second time this fall.
• Thomson is expected to make his 26th consecutive start for the Wolverines. He has not missed a tournament for U-M in three straight seasons. Anderson is set up to make his 16th straight start and 30th of his 31-event career. Additionally, Liu has started his last 11 events for U-M.
• It's been quite the start to the fall season for Thomson. Leading U-M with a 69.17 scoring average, all six of his rounds have been par or better, and four of the six are under with three sub-70 tallies -- including a career-low 65 (-7) in the second round of season-opening Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4). He was the runner-up at the Island Resort and rallied in the third round to post his 11th top-20 individual finish (t-18th) at the Highlands Invitational (Sept. 18-19).
• Thomson earned his third career Big Ten Golfer of the Week accolade after his career-best performance at the Island Resort Intercollegiate. He set his career-best 54-hole total with a 202 (-14) to earn a runner-up finish -- the third of his career. The 202 tally tied U-M's second-lowest 54-hole tally in program history (Bill Rankin, 2008 The Maxwell). Thomson's 202 was his 11th sub-par total of his 23-54-hole events.
• After starting the season with a career-low 216 (E) total at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, paced by his career-low 69 (-3) in the final round, Liu did not take long to top that career best. With a 68 (-4) in the second round of the Highlands Invitational, he reset his top 18 hole tally. Despite it being early in the fall, he has averaged 72.50 per round, which is three strokes better than last season's 75.80 average.
• Hoagland used a career-low 64 (-8) in the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate to set a new career-low 54-hole total of 206 (-10). He topped his prior best by four shots (210, -6) tallied at the 2022 Island Resort event. With four of his six rounds this season at-or-below par, he has posted a 71.67 average.
• So far this season, Michigan has produced 19-of-30 rounds at-or-below par, with 11 sub-par and eight at even. This has helped the Wolverines post four of six team totals under par, including a season-low 273 (-15) in the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate. As a team, U-M is averaging 284.33 -- nearly four shots below par.
• U-M's 834 (-30) season-opening tally at the Island Resort Intercollegiate marked the second-lowest 54-hole team tournament total in program history. A total of four career-bests fell at the season-opener. After Thomson (202, -14) and Hoagland (206, -10), O'Donnell posted a career-low 215 (-1; 71-72-72), while Liu followed with his career-best 216 (E, 75-72-69).
Players Mentioned
