The Michigan men’s golf team got off to a good start in most of its tournaments last season. Finishing strong on the final day was the main problem for the Wolverines.
But Michigan maintained the lead from start to finish to win the Wolf Run Intercollegiate this weekend in Zionsville, Ind., its first tournament of the season.
The Wolverines held on for the win after a great start on Saturday. Most of the other teams in the tournament had finished the final round before a 3 p.m. rain delay, but not Michigan. After the delay, no one shot under par for the Wolverines with the course in terrible shape.
“The weather wasn’t good when we finished, and we lost some ground,” Michigan coach Andrew Sapp said. “But some other teams struggled, too. We were fortunate to maintain our lead coming in.”
The Wolverines played consistently throughout the weekend. Senior Bill Rankin finished fourth, sophomore Lion Kim finished fifth and senior Nick Pumford finished seventh. Junior Ross Millman and sophomore Alexander Sitompul also tied for 24th.
“It was a well-balanced attack for our guys,” Sapp said. “Everybody contributed, and it really showed the depth on our team.”
The win is big for a Michigan team with high expectations this season. The Wolverines won twice last year and finished in the top five in four other tournaments, missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Championships by three strokes.
Last weekend Michigan showed that it’s a different team now, with the depth to close out tournaments. Michigan relied heavily on then-senior Tim Schaetzel last season, but enough players improved over the summer and gained experience last year to make every starter a legitimate threat to finish in the top 10 of any tournament.
Michigan also defeated Big Ten foes Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue at Wolf Run. Indiana and Illinois both finished higher than Michigan at the Big Ten Tournament last year.
“Our guys worked hard over the summer and came back to a course they had some success on,” Sapp said. “They played well and came out to prove that we’re the best team in the Big Ten.”