Michigan
Puerto Rico Classic
Duff Shines at Puerto Rico Classic; U-M Finishes 18th
2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- With 10 of the Top 25 teams in the country competing, the University of Michigan men's golf team faced its toughest challenge of the spring season at the 2006 Puerto Rico Classic on the River Course at the Westin Rio Mar Country Club. The Maize and Blue closed with an 18th place team finish after posting a team total of 906. The Wolverines opened with a 305 Sunday and improved tallying a 297 on Monday, but fell short today (Tuesday, Feb. 28) with a final round 304.
Coming off Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors, senior Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) led the Wolverines for the second straight tournament as he tied for 35th with a 219 54-hole total. After starting off slow posting a six-over 78, Duff rallied back posting back-to-back under par rounds. He fired a one-under 71 in the second round and closed with a two-under 70 to give him the top 35 finish.
Sophomore Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS) tied for 63rd with a 226 total. After opening with a four-over 76, he came back strong with a two-under 70 in the second round. He closed with a disappointing 80. Fellow-sophomore Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) tied for 73rd with a 229 total after opening with a two-over 74. He slipped off the pace in the second round with an 80, but came back in the final round posting a three-over 75.
Other Wolverine finishes included: senior Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS) and junior Matt McLaughlin (Tucson, Ariz./Millbrook HS [Raleigh, N.C.]) who both tied for 88th with 242 totals. Vozza had rounds of 82, 76, 84, while McLaughlin posted rounds of 77, 86, 79.
The high profile field proved not to disappoint as No. 1 Georgia used a final round nine-under 279 to take home the team title with a 21-under 843 (281-283-279) total. The Bulldogs won by four strokes over team runner-up No. 4 Florida (284-284-279), who closed with a 847 team total. No. 3 Oklahoma State (291-272-299) was third at 862. In addition to the team title, Georgia's Chris Kirk used a final round five-under 67 to take home medalist honors with an 11-under 205 total (70-68-67). Oklahoma State's Pablo Martin was the runner-up at 10-under 206 (68-67-71).
Following this big spring test, the Wolverines will not compete for a couple of weeks. The Maize and Blue will next hit the links when the Wolverines head to Mobile, Ala., Monday and Tuesday (March 13-14) for the South Alabama Spring Classic. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Heron Lakes Country Club.
Team Standings
1. Georgia 281-283-279 = 843 (-21) 2. Florida 284-284-279 = 847 3. Oklahoma State 291-272-299 = 862 4. Alabama 280-294-291 = 865 5. East Tennessee State 292-287-288 = 867 6. Arizona State 285-300-285 = 870 7. Purdue 287-288-301 = 876 Duke 296-289-291 = 876 9. Clemson 294-288-295 = 877 10. N.C. State 293-292-293 = 878 11. Illinois 305-288-286 = 879 12. Texas 286-298-300 = 884 13. Kent State 302-293-290 = 885 Northwestern 291-298-296 = 885 15. Georgia Tech 288-298-300 = 886 16. Virginia Tech 295-292-305 = 892 17. Minnesota 314-295-291 = 900 18. MICHIGAN 305-297-304 = 906
Top Individuals
1. Chris Kirk, Georgia 70-68-67 = 205 (-11) 2. Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State 68-67-71 = 206 3. Matt Every, Florida 70-72-68 = 210 Brendon Todd, Georgia 68-72-70 = 210 5. Alejandro Canizares, Arizona State 69-73-70 = 212 Jordan Findlay, ETSU 72-70-70 = 212 7. David Merkow, Northwestern 71-70-72 = 213 8. Mark Ogren, Illinois 74-69-71 = 214 Brett Stegmaier, Florida 68-74-72 = 214 Brian Harman, Georgia 72-69-73 = 214 Patrick Nagle, Illinois 76-69-69 = 214 Billy Horschel, Florida 74-68-72 = 214 Stewart Whitt, Alabama 69-75-70 = 214
Michigan Individual Scores
T35. Brandon Duff 78-71-70 = 219 T63. Brian Ottenweller 76-70-80 = 226 T73. Tim Schaetzel 74-80-75 = 229 T88. Christian Vozza 82-76-84 = 242 T88. Matt McLaughlin 77-86-79 = 242
Q U O T E S
Michigan coach Andrew Sapp
On his thoughts on the tournament ... "It was really good to see Brandon (Duff) have two rounds under par and to see Brian (Ottenweller) shoot one round under par. We need to get more guys playing well. We need to have more than one or two good scores a round. If we don't we are going to keep shooting rounds in the 300s. So, we just need to find some consistency."
On his realistic expectations coming into this tough tournament field ... "Going in, I thought we would have the chance to compete with some of the Big Ten schools, who have been in the same weather conditions we have been in all winter long. So, we were looking to do that as well as look to beat some of the other teams here. Obviously, when you have a top caliber field like we had here it is going to be a challenge, but we have to be able to rise to that challenge and play well."
On the play of Brandon Duff over the last few weeks ... "He has played well. It has definitely been a bright spot for us. He started slowly the first two tournaments we have played, but then really played well in his final two rounds the last two times. That is what you really want to see. You want to see players improve each round. Brandon has been able to do that. I am really proud of the way he came back after his first round 78."
On if the Wolverines are where he wants them to be right now ... "It's really hard to say. You have one player, Brandon (Duff) who is playing really well. We are then getting a good round here are there from Tim (Schaetzel) and Brian (Ottenweller). So those two guys have given us that good score, but no one, including Brandon, has put three good rounds together. That was something we were able to do this fall. We were able to put three solid rounds together and have a high finish in a tournament. When you throw in some 78s and even some 80s you are going to struggle. How do we fix that I don't really know at this point. We will just have to keep working at it and get more comfortable as time goes on."
N O T E S
Michigan continues to add up the red numbers on the scorecards. Through seven tournaments, the Wolverines have 29 rounds under par with 16 rounds under the 70 stroke barrier. During the entire of the 2004-05 season, Michigan recorded 15 rounds under par and five under the 70 strokes.
For the third time this season Brandon Duff has led Michigan in a tournament. In fact, he has now led the Wolverines in back-to-back events to open the spring. He has finished as the top Wolverine at the Puerto Rico Classic, the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate (Feb. 13-14) and the Hawkeye Intercollegiate (Sept. 10-11).
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
