BY TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Writer
Published May 3, 2009
The Michigan men’s golf team came out firing this weekend at the Big Ten Championships, firmly in the top spot as Friday came to a close. But the Wolverines couldn’t continue the charge in the final two days, finishing tied for eighth place.
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Michigan traveled to State College to compete on Penn State’s Blue Course over the weekend. The Wolverines ended tied with Purdue with a 1,179 total score, 30 strokes behind Illinois, the Tournament Champion.
Sophomore Alexander Sitompul boosted Michigan into first place on the first day with a two-under score of 69. But the Wolverines were the worst of the eleven Big Ten teams on Saturday, shooting a 302 — five shots more than any other team.
“It was disappointing because even going into the third round we were only 11 shots off the lead,” said Michigan coach Andrew Sapp. “But we just weren’t able to mount a charge.”
The Wolverines failed to contend after Friday, and even though they strung together some good holes, it was missed putts and key mistakes the ultimately cost them the tournament.
While the overall team momentum wasn’t there, the trio of Sitompl, sophomore Lion Kim, and senior co-captain Nick Pumford made a strong showing. They each shot career 72-hole personal records at State College.
Michigan’s top individual was Kim, who finished 14th with a 293 score over the weekend. Following Kim was senior co-captain Bill Rankin and Sitompul who tied for 17th with a score of 295.
But even with the Wolverines’ individual successes, the middle two rounds kept Michigan from gathering steam and having a successful weekend after their impressive entrance into the tournament.
“We played well in the first round, obviously — we had the lead,” Sapp said. “Got off to a great start, but the middle two rounds really sunk us. And (we) played solid (Sunday) in the final round and we were able to move up.
“Those middle two rounds really hurt us and obviously that’s what cost us finishing a lot higher.”
The tough competition the Wolverines faced this weekend could prepare them for their NCAA Regional, which will be played at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Tex. from May 14-16.
