Weekly Release #1

Upcoming Schedule
Mon-Tue., Sept. 18-19 -- at Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational (Toledo, Ohio)
Sat-Sun., Sept. 23-24 -- Wolverine North Invitational (U-M Golf Course)

Next on the Tee
The University of Michigan men's golf team will open the 2000-01 season by traveling to Toledo, Ohio, to compete in the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 18-19). The inaugural 54-hole tournament will be played at The Inverness Club. The Invitational will be set up for a par-71 card with 7,250 total yards being played.

Tournament Facts
The Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational features 13 teams competing head-to-head from across the Midwest. The competition takes place at famed Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, which was built in 1903 and has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and one U.S. Amateur. The Inverness Club is scheduled to host the 2003 U.S. Senior Open.

The Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational will be played for the Byron Nelson Cup. Byron Nelson, one of the great golf champions of all time, was the golf professional at Inverness from 1939-41. His record of 11 successive PGA Tour wins in 1945 still stands unmatched.

Invitational Teams
There will be 13 teams participating in the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational. The list of participants includes: Alabama-Birmingham, Baylor, Colorado, Fresno State, Kansas, Kent State, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas Christian, Toledo and UCLA.

Invitational Schedule
The Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational will consist of 54 holes, 36 of which will be played on Monday (Sept. 18) followed by 18 on Tuesday (Sept. 19).

Monday, Sept. 18	First Round	9 a.m. shotgun start
	Second Round	20 minutes after first round
Tuesday, Sept. 19	Final Round	tee times starting at 8:30 a.m.

Scoring Format
Scoring for the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational will be five players, count the low four scores each round.

The Michigan Lineup
The Wolverines will carry five players to the first tournament of the fall season. Fifth-year senior Scott Hayes (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester HS) heads up the group. Juniors Andrew Chapman (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS), Andy Matthews (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) and Kyle Kilcherman (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) fill up the middle portion of the team card. Fifth-year senior Kevin Hinton (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) rounds out the top five after a strong preseason.

Recapping Last Season
The Wolverines continued down the middle of the fairway in 1999-2000 with one of their most successful seasons. Paced behind the play of senior Michael Harris, the Wolverines finished the year with two team tournament titles -- at the Xavier Invitational (Oct. 11-12) and at the Marshall Invitational (April 7-8) -- and finished in the top four in eight of their 13 total tournament events. The season continued with a trip to the NCAA Central Regional Championship in Victoria, Texas, where the Wolverines finished tied for 11th, just missing the NCAA Championship qualifying cut. Harris dominated and led the team the entire 1999-2000 season. He broke his own school record for season stroke average (72.23) and doubled his career total for individual titles as he won four events on the season, giving him eight career trophies.

Core Begins Life After Harris and Affeldt
The core group of Scott Hayes, Andrew Chapman, Andy Matthews, Kyle Kilcherman and Kevin Hinton that makes up the Michigan squad takes center stage after the departure of last year's seniors, Michael Harris and Mike Affeldt. But don't worry about this squad as four returning players finished in the top five in scoring average last season. Hayes was second on the squad last season with a 75.28 scoring average while collecting four top-20 finishes. Chapman finished right behind Hayes with a 75.57 average. Matthews (76.15) and Kilcherman (76.18) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Looking to Continue the Trend
After qualifying for the NCAA Central Regional Championships two times in the last four years, the 2000-01 Wolverines will look to continue that trend with another trip this season. Last season, the Wolverines finished tied for 11th at the Central Regional championship, just missing the cut for the NCAA Championship. The Wolverines finished eighth during the 1997 Central Regional championship and qualified for the 1998 NCAA Championship, where they finished 25th.

Newcomers Making Strong Push in Preseason Qualifiers
Six newcomers have continued to make impressions during the preseason qualifying rounds. Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) and David Katz (Chicago, Ill./University of Chicago Lab School) have remained in the hunt, while Chris Rogers (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and J.O. Delancey (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) have had solid rounds of play. David Nichols (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) and Jimmy Chestnut (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) are also on the list of newcomers pushing the core team. With another week and a half of qualifying rounds to go, it is still up in the air who will make the main rotation.

Matthews Uses Summer to Round Out Game
Junior Andy Matthews took the summer months to hone different parts of his game with each tournament he went to. He finished tied for 13th at the Advil Western Open qualifier, missing the cut by one stroke, finished tied for 17th at the Northern Amateur and made it to the Elite Eight at the Michigan Amateur. But his most success was at the Western Amateur, where he made the cut with a tied for third place at the qualifier and then finished tied for 110th overall after solid rounds of play. Last season, he finished fourth on the team with a 76.15 scoring average, playing in all 13 events.

More Summer Work Paying Off for Wolverines
Several returning Wolverine players honed and practiced their games during the summer months and it has paid off this fall with all of the early success in the preseason qualifying rounds. Four tournament titles and two alternates for the U.S. Amateur Championship head up the long list of Michigan summer accomplishments.

Wolverine Summer Breakdown

Kyle Kilcherman	1st	Traverse City Junior/Collegiate Championship
	2nd alternate	U.S. Amateur Qualifier
Scott Hayes	T-1st	Margo Klum Invitational
	1st alternate	U.S. Amateur Qualifier
	3rd	West Michigan District Championships
Ray Coyne	T-2nd	Illinois State Caddie Championship
Kevin Hinton	1st	Port Huron Golf Club Championship
	T-1st	Margo Klum Invitational
	T-3rd	Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Qualifier
Scott Carlton	2nd	Ashworth Collegiate Tour (Redford Valley)
	3rd	Ashworth Collegiate Tour (Darby Creek)
	5th	Ashworth Collegiate Tour (Fox's Den)
Brian Seipke	15th	Traverse City Junior/Collegiate Championship
	20th	Brower Cup Championship