The Michigan men’s golf team headed to Columbus, Ohio hoping for a win at the Big Ten Championships to guarantee them a spot in postseason play. However, the Wolverines ended up with a tied-tenth place finish out of the fourteen team field, putting an end to their volatile season.
“We weren’t ready to play out of the gate,” Michigan coach Zach Barlow said. “At the end of the day that falls on me. I don’t know if it was conference championship nerves or what it all boils down to.”
While the team’s 54-hole score of 907 wasn’t low enough to extend their season, junior Hunter Thomson’s finish for an impressive tied-eight place almost fully solidified his first individual selection appearance at the NCAA Regionals.
“It’s always been a big goal of mine to play in Regionals,” Thomson said. “I’m just really looking forward to it, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
The first round for the Wolverines got off to a rather slow start at Scioto Country Club, with all players, Thomson included, shooting scores of 75 — five over par — or higher. In a day full of many bogeys as well as double bogeys, the Wolverines score of 305 quickly sunk them to 13th place after day one.
“Scioto has hosted major championships and it’s going to host the US Amateur in a couple of years,” Barlow said. “It’s tough, there’s no getting around it. We really struggled with it the first round.”
The second round for the Wolverines was better, but again no Michigan player other than Thomson shot lower than 76. Thomson finished slightly better than the previous day, shooting a four over par, 74, which included a double bogey on the very last hole. With high scores across the lineup, the Wolverines’ score of 304 moved them up only one place to a tie for twelfth after the second round.
“I think we had the fifth lowest on Saturday,” Barlow said. “But unfortunately we were so far behind after the first round that we didn’t move up as many spots as maybe we should have.”
With the leaders and eventual winners of the tournament, Northwestern, already many shots ahead, Michigan entered the final round simply hoping to find some positivity or improvement to end their season. Thomson led the way once again with a one-under, 69, to jump 19 spots up the leaderboard and achieve his top ten finish. This top finish adds to his three runner-up performances as well as victory earlier this season.
“Hunter is elite,” Barlow said. “He’s an All American and All Big Ten in my book. This week he just grinded out, and today was a microcosm of his whole season really.
The rest of the team, however, again did not manage to break a score of 76, shot by both redshirt junior Ben Hoagland and senior Will Anderson. The Wolverines’ final round score of 298 was better than the two previous days, but was due mainly to Thomson’s improvement of play. Though the jump up the leaderboard was not of too much significance, Michigan ended the tournament in a tie for tenth place with Penn State.
This finish for the Wolverines brings a season that had many ups and downs to a close. In the fall, Michigan won two tournaments and even finished in third place at last week’s Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate. But aside from those events, other tournaments for the Wolverines ended in mostly middle-of-the-pack finishes.
“We just have to be better, at the end of the day,” Barlow said. “We have got to put in more time and effort because I really think that the time and the repetition is the only way to get the confidence needed in order to finish off some of these rounds.”
The NCAA Selection Show awaits Michigan, where it will more than likely not hear its name called. However, the Wolverines will see one representative in the postseason, with Thomson more than likely to receive an individual selection.
Throughout the year, Michigan showed flashes of potential to build on next season, coupled with Thomson’s strong play. Consistency has been the issue for most of the season, and for more victories, the Wolverines will require consistently low scores from the bottom of the lineup to have a chance at making a run at the Big Ten Championships a year from now.