This weekend, at the Puerto Rico Classic, the Michigan men’s golf team made sure history didn’t repeat itself.
The Wolverines’ past at the Classic isn’t pretty – they finished second to last in 2007 and last in 2006.
But this year, Michigan finished a solid sixth out of 15 teams in their first tournament of the spring season.
The Wolverines played consistent golf throughout the weekend. After finishing in seventh place after the first round, Michigan played well enough on the second day to move up to fourth before eventually settling for sixth.
“It was a good finish for us,” Michigan coach Andrew Sapp said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play as well as we would have liked to [on Sunday], but it’s still a good way to start the spring season.”
Freshman Lion Kim led the way for Michigan, tying for 10th overall. He recovered from a rough first round 4-over par 76 with a personal best 4-under par 68 in the second round and 3-under par 69 in the final round.
Sapp said good putting was the key to Kim’s success.
“He hit the ball very well the whole week,” Sapp said. “He struggled with his putting in the first round, but he really came back and played great.”
Junior Nick Pumford finished tied for 20th while senior Tim Schaetzel and freshman Alexander Sitompul tied for 31st.
Sapp was pleased with the Wolverines’ finish because some of the nation’s top teams were playing in Puerto Rico. No. 2 Alabama won the tournament, with No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 1 Georgia finishing second and third, respectively.
Michigan edged out some good teams, including No. 6 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Clemson. The Wolverines were ranked 36th heading into the tournament and should move up when the next poll comes out this week.
“Our finish will help our ranking and give our team confidence,” Sapp said. “We know now that we can beat top teams.”