Michigan men’s golf coach Andrew Sapp called it "embarrassing."

At the end of the first round of the three-day Pinehurst Intercollegiate in Pinehurst, N.C., No. 36 Michigan — the second highest-ranked team in the field of 20 — straggled to a disappointing 18th-place finish. By the end of the three-round tournament, the Wolverines managed to climb back into a tie for ninth.

Sapp, whose Wolverines have followed up a second-place performance at the Big Ten Match Play Championship with consecutive ninth-place finishes, blamed just one person for the poor finish.

“We just played very uninspired golf,” Sapp said. “I guess I have to point the finger at myself if that’s the case because I didn’t do whatever it takes to get the guys pumped up to rip and ready to play.”

The tournament field included three Big Ten foes — Penn State, No. 34 Michigan State, and Minnesota — who finished first, second and third, respectively, in the tournament, even though all three finished behind Michigan at the Big Ten tournament on Feb. 13. The Wolverines finished 29 shots behind the Nittany Lions.

Weather was a factor throughout the week, especially on the first day of the event in Pinehurst, N.C., as rain and wind hindered play. The rain certainly affected Michigan, which had the highest full-round score of any team that completed the round before play was suspended due to darkness.

Senior co-captain Bill Rankin led Michigan in the final two days, posting team-low scores in each of the last two rounds. Rankin and senior co-captain Nick Pumford finished tied for 22nd individually.

“The fact is, we got beat, and it doesn’t matter who we’re competing against,” Rankin said. “All in all, this definitely wasn’t good enough, even though we’re going to try to draw as many positives as we can out of this.”

The Wolverines’ inability to sink putts in the last two events continues to be a pressing issue. In Pinehurst, each of the Wolverines shot a bogey or worse for two consecutive holes at least once during the three rounds. Meanwhile, just Rankin and Pumford strung together consecutive birdies. Sapp attributed this negative trend to his team’s weak putting.

“They need to make some more putts, and they need to stay focused," Sapp said. “When you’re not playing well, and you make a bogey or a double bogey, often times you try to press too much to get it back on the next hole.”

Michigan’s short game will be tested again at its next tournament on Mar. 27 in Delray Beach, Fla., at the FAU Spring Break Championship. Sapp hopes the recent warm weather in Ann Arbor will give the team an opportunity to sharpen its short game during the 10-day layoff before heading to Florida.