Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 2)
Sub-Par Round Boosts U-M to Tie for Seventh in Big Ten
5/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: U-M Golf Course (par 71, 6,704 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships
U-M Finish: Tie-7th Place of 11 Teams (297-292-282/871)
Top U-M Individual: Kevin Dore, Tie-10th (73-73-68/214)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind freshman Kevin Dore's (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's) career-best three-under-par 68, sophomore Christian Vozza's (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS) one-under 70 and fifth-year senior Scott Carlton's (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) even-par 71, the University of Michigan men's golf team tallied a two-under 282 in the final round Sunday (May 9) at the Big Ten Conference Championships at the U-M Golf Course. The season-best round vaulted the Wolverines into a tie for seventh place with a season-best 871 54-hole tournament total.
Dore recorded five birdies while shooting a career-best, three-under-par 68 Sunday.
The Maize and Blue recorded descending team totals throughout the 54-hole championship as the Wolverines opened with rounds of 297 and 292 on Saturday. U-M then dropped 10 more strokes in the final round to hit its best team total in four years with a 282 to give them an 871 conference championship total.
Dore took the leading role for the Wolverines today, using his career-best 68 to finish tied for 10th in the final standings. He finished with a 214 tournament total after posting back-to-back 73s in rounds one and two. He opened the final round of the tournament with birdies on three of his first four holes on the back nine for two-under par. He would keep a steady pace, putting up five straight pars before firing a birdie on No. 1 after making the turn. Dore bogeyed No. 3 but cancelled out the stroke with a birdie on No. 7 to finish his final round of the season at three-under.
Vozza also came in under par, finishing with a one-under 70 after carding rounds of 75 and 73 in rounds one and two to finish tied for 24th with a 218 tournament total. He mixed in three birdies and two bogeys throughout a hefty stream of pars to come in second for the Wolverines.
Carlton completed the trio with an even-par 71, finishing tied for 47th in the standings with a 226 54-hole total. He started out the round two-over after nine, carding bogeys on No. 12 and No. 14. Carlton turned it up after making the turn, however, connecting for back-to-back birdies on holes No. 1 and No. 2. He would bogey twice more before he posted back-to-back birdies once again to finish up the round.
Other Michigan finishes included: senior/junior Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS), tied for 28th (73-71-75/219), and senior Dave Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS [Mich.]), tied for 41st (76-75-73/224).
In the overall standings, Ohio State managed to hang on to win the tournament, shooting a 284 to finish 10 under par over Illinois and Minnesota. Kevin Hall took home medalist honors with a commanding tournament-record 14-under 199 total. The Fighting Illini made a run for the title in the final round, surpassing Minnesota and at one point tying the Buckeyes.
The Big Ten Tournament completes the 2003-04 season for the Wolverines.
Team Standings
1. Ohio State 279-279-284 = 842 (-10)
2. Illinois 279-291-277 = 847
3. Minnesota 287-279-282 = 848
4. Purdue 287-289-284 = 860
5. Indiana 286-291-288 = 865
6. Penn State 291-285-293 = 869
7. MICHIGAN 297-292-282 = 871
Northwestern 292-288-291 = 871
9. Iowa 295-288-290 = 873
10. Michigan State 287-293-296 = 876
11. Wisconsin 299-300-298 = 897
Top Individuals
1. Kevin Hall, Ohio State 66-65-68 = 199 (-14)
2. Joe Affrunti, Illinois 69-72-69 = 210
Mike O'Neal, Illinois 67-74-69 = 210
Justin Smith, Minnesota 68-70-72 = 210
5. Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota 73-68-70 = 211
David Morgan, Minnesota 76-67-68 = 211
7. Luke Epp, Purdue 71-72-70 = 213
Andrew Ruthkowski, Michigan State 69-71-73 = 213
Brett Williams, Ohio State 67-74-72 = 213
10. Kevin Dore, U-M 73-73-68 = 214
Dillon Dougherty, Northwestern 73-69-72 = 214
Patrick Nagle, Illinois 70-74-70 = 214
Other Michigan Individuals
T24. Christian Vozza 75-73-70 = 218 T28. Rob Tighe 73-71-75 = 219 T41. Dave Nichols 76-75-73 = 224 T47. Scott Carlton 80-75-71 = 226
2004 All-Big Ten Conference
First Team
Jeff Overton, Indiana
Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
Justin Smith, Minnesota
Joe Affrunti, Illinois
Kevin Hall, Ohio State
Shiv Kapur, Purdue
Second Team
Peter Richardson, Purdue
Tom Johnson, Northwestern
Patrick Nagle, Illinois
Heath Peters, Indiana
Ben Greve, Minnesota
David Morgan, Minnesota
Freshman of the Year: Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
Player of the Year: Jeff Overton, Indiana (unanimous)
Coach of the Year: Jim Brown, Ohio State
Les Bolstad Award (low season stroke average): Jeff Overton, Indiana (70.38)
2004 Big Ten Championship Awards
All-Championship Team
Kevin Hall, Ohio State
Joe Affrunti, Illinois
Mike O'Neal, Illinois
Justin Smith, Minnesota
Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
David Morgan, Minnesota
Team Champion
Ohio State (842)
(279-279-284, 10 under par)
Medalist and 2004 Champion
Kevin Hall, Ohio State
Second Place Medalist
Justin Smith, Minnesota
Mike O'Neal, Illinois
Joe Affrunti, Illinois
Fifth Place Medalist
David Morgan, Minnesota
Bronson La'Cassie, Minnesota
Players Mentioned
