Michigan
Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge
Vozza 11th, Michigan 13th at Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge
10/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
BANDON DUNES, Ore. -- Battling rain and winds for two straight days, the University of Michigan men's golf team finished 13th today (Tuesday, Oct. 26) at the shortened Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge at the prestigious Bandon Dunes Golf Course. Originally schedule for 54-holes, constant poor weather conditions forced the cancellation of Monday's second round reducing the tournament to just a two round 36 hole format. In the first annual conference battle, the Maize and Blue tallied team rounds of 310 and 312 for a 622 total.
Junior Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist) earned his second top 20 finish and led the Wolverines for the third straight tournament as he tied for 11th with a 149 36-hole total. Playing through the rain, Vozza opened with a one-over 73 in the first round, before closing out with a four-over 76 in Tuesday's final round.
Fifth-year senior Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) and freshman Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS) tied for 45th with 156 totals. Tighe fired back-to-back rounds of 78, while Ottenweller opened with a 77 and closed out with a 79. Other Wolverine finishes included: sophomore Kevin Dore (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's) tied for 63rd with a 161 total (82-79) and sophomore Matt McLaughlin (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook HS) tied for 66th with a 163 total (82-81).
The first battle of the conferences came down to a scorecard playoff as Minnesota (304-292) and Southern Cal (298-298) both finished 36-holes with a 596 tally. The Golden Gophers were declared victorious by virtue of the fifth-score tie-break. First-day leader UCLA was third with a 598 total (291-307).
Arizona State's Alejandro Canizares used back-to-back one-under 71s to claim medalist honors with a two-under 142 36-hole tally. Washington's Alex Prugh was the runner-up with a one-under 143 (72-71) and USC's Taylor Wood was third at even par 144 (71-73).
As for the battle between the two conferences, the Pac-10 took a 38-stroke lead (1798 to 1836) after the first day of play after the six top scores from each conference were added together. The Big Ten did win the second day of play (1811 to 1820) gaining nine strokes, but the Pac-10 held on to win by a 29 strokes to win the challenge.
With the completion the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, the Wolverines have just one day of travel in between tournaments. The Maize and Blue will close out the fall season with a trip to Wilmington, N.C., Friday through Sunday (Oct. 29-31) for the Landfall Tradition at the Jack Nicklaus Course at the Country Club of Landfall. The 12-team field, featuring five Big Ten teams, will play 18 holes each day.
Team Standings
1. Minnesota 304-292 = 596* Southern Cal 298-298 = 596 3. UCLA 291-307 = 598 4. Arizona State 296-305 = 601 5. Northwestern 298-304 = 602 6. Washington 301-302 = 603 7. Arizona 307-298 = 605 8. Penn State 310-297 = 607 9. Purdue 310-299 = 609 10. Indiana 304-307 = 611 11. California 305-311 = 616 12. Oregon 310-310 = 620 13. MICHIGAN 310-312 = 622 14. Illinois 312-316 = 628 * Minnesota declared winner by virtue of fifth-score tiebreaker
Top Individuals
1. Alejandro Canizares, Arizona State 71-71 = 142 2. Alex Prugh, Washington 72-71 = 143 3. Taylor Wood, USC 71-73 = 144 4. Jeff Overton, Indiana 73-72 = 145 Bronson LaCassie, Minnesota 74-71 = 145 Peter Campbell, UCLA 73-72 = 145 7. Henry Liaw, Arizona 74-72 = 146 Chris Wilson, Northwestern 74-72 = 146 9. Tyler Ley, USC 74-73 = 147 10. Garrett Chaussard, Illinois 74-74 = 148 11. CHRISTIAN VOZZA, U-M 73-76 = 149 John Poucher, UCLA 72-77 = 149 Bobby Bennett, Purdue 75-74 = 149 14. Niall Turner, Minnesota 77-73 = 150 Dillon Dougherty, Northwestern 76-74 = 150 Joshua Wooding, USC 77-73 = 150 Zach Bixler, Washington 74-76 = 150
Other Michigan Individuals
T45. Rob Tighe 78-78 = 156 T45. Brian Ottenweller 77-79 = 156 T63. Kevin Dore 82-79 = 161 T66. Matt McLaughlin 82-81 = 163
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
