Michigan
Wolverine at Mission Inn
Mission Accomplished: Michigan, Schaetzel Earn Titles
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site:Â Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Course:Â El Campeon Course at Mission Inn Resort (Par 72, 6,923 Yards)
Tournament: Wolverine at Mission Inn
U-M Finish:Â 1st Place of 10 Teams (294-289-289/872)
Top U-M Individual:Â Tim Schaetzel, 1st (68-74-69/211)
Next U-M Event:Â Saturday, Feb. 16 -- at Alumni Match (Phoenix, Ariz.)
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. -- For the University of Michigan men's golf team, the mission at Mission Inn was to win, and coach Andrew Sapp's squad came through convincingly. Michigan and senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) used the best scores of the day in Tuesday's (Nov. 6) final round to convert their 36-hole leads into the team and individual titles at the two-day, 54-hole Wolverine at Mission Inn, hosted by U-M at Mission Inn Resort's El Campeon course.
The Wolverines, who began the final round with a seven-shot cushion over Penn State and Colorado after rounds of 294 and 289 on Monday, put together their second straight team round of one-over-par 289 and finished with a 10-stroke margin of victory over Penn State (304-284-294/882). Illinois (302-287-296/885) moved past Colorado to finish third. The victory is the second of the season for Michigan, which won the rain-shortened Purdue Midwest Shootout (Sept. 8) to open the season.
Schaetzel closed out his first outright collegiate victory in style, finishing birdie, birdie, par for a three-under 69 and a three-shot win over 36-hole co-leader Cole Peevler of Iowa. Peevler, whose 65 Monday afternoon was the low round of the tournament, was runner-up at 214 (77-65-72).
The only person in the 60-player field to break par more than once, Schaetzel made a 30-footer from off the green to birdie on No. 11 and converted birdie opportunities at 1, 4, 16 and 17 in the final round to finish with a five-under total of 211 (68-74-69). His other tournament victory came at the Purdue Midwest Shootout, where he finished in a five-way tie for first.
Freshman Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) and senior co-captain Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) also were solid Tuesday, touring the par-72, 6,923-yard layout in even par. Sitompul birdied three of the four par-5 holes and bogeyed three par-4s for his final-round 72 and a fifth-place finish (73-73-72/218). It is the second straight top-five showing for the freshman, who tied for fourth at The Prestige (Oct. 15-16).
Ottenweller, who shot 73 Monday afternoon, continued his strong play with a 72 Tuesday despite a double bogey on his final hole, the par-3 second. He made four birdies (1, 3, 6 and 16) in the final round and wound up tied for 13th at 223 (78-73-72). Junior Bill Rankin (Traverse City, Mich./Central) could not match his second-round 69, but his closing 76 and total of 220 (75-69-76) was good for a tie for seventh place and the fourth top-10 finish of his career.
Freshman Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep) was the low finisher among Michigan's five individual competitors, as his final-round 73 gave him a total of 226 (76-78-73) and a tie for 17th. Sophomores Ross Millman (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day), whose career-best 74 Tuesday included back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16, and Billy McKay (Grand Blanc, Mich./David Leadbetter Golf Academy) tied for 32nd.
The Wolverine at Mission Inn wraps up the fall season for Michigan, which will return to action Feb. 16 with an alumni match in Arizona.
Team Standings
1. MICHIGAN 294-289-289 = 872 (+8)
2. Penn State 304-284-294 = 882
3. Illinois 302-287-296 = 885
4. Colorado 303-285-307 = 895
5. Iowa State 301-295-307 = 903
6. Iowa 314-288-303 = 905
7. Missouri 311-296-305 = 912
8. Miami (Ohio) 306-302-306 = 914
9. Northern Illinois 305-301-311 = 917
Xavier 307-300-310 = 917
Top Individuals
1. TIM SCHAETZEL, U-M 68-74-69 = 211 (-5)
2. Cole Peevler, Iowa 77-65-72 = 214
3. Robert Rohanna, Penn State 73-70-73 = 216
4. Chris Baker, Iowa State 74-70-73 = 217
5. ALEXANDER SITOMPUL, U-M 73-73-72 = 218
6. Zach Barlow, Illinois 75-69-75 = 219
7. BILL RANKIN, U-M 75-69-76 = 220
Harvin Groft, Penn State 78-70-72 = 220
T.J. Howe, Penn State 78-70-72 = 220
Michael Baird, Colorado 73-70-77 = 220
11. Larry Blatt, Illinois 75-74-72 = 221
12. Jon Krick, Illinois 75-73-74 = 222
13. BRIAN OTTENWELLER, U-M 78-73-72 = 223
Michael Imperato, Colorado 75-70-78 = 223
Scott Langley, Illinois 77-71-75 = 223
Other Michigan Scores
56. Nick Pumford 82-79-77 = 238 T17. Lion Kim* 75-78-73 = 226 T32. Ross Millman* 78-78-74 = 230 T32. Billy McKay* 72-80-78 = 230 T43. David Weisfeld* 77-72-84 = 233 57. Michael Slovitt* 79-80-80 = 239
* played as an individual
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On opening and closing the fall season with team titles ... " It's was a good start to the fall. It's a good end to the fall. It's good to win, especially when you are hosting a tournament. It was nice to have all 10 players down here to share in the victory. We basically had good play throughout. We have four guys finish among the top 15 and when you are able to do that you can win. That's the bottom line. That's what these guys have been working hard on all fall to do. It just really came together this weekend. Tim (Schaetzel) had a great tournament. It was good to see his 69 in the final round to really close the deal for him and get that individual honor."
On the successes this fall season ... "It's just stepping stones. It's nice to get two wins and have different players win individual titles. We are just making strides in the right direction. This (win) should help our ranking, which is what gets you into regional -- that's one of our goals this season. Going into the winter, it's always nice to finish well. We were fortunate enough to do that last winter in Hawaii when we finished second and we were fortunate enough to close this fall with a win. Starting our workouts and winter practice, we will be able to go in with a lot confidence and really feel good about ourselves in preparation for February."
U-M Senior Tim Schaetzel
On the Wolverines closing the fall with a win ... "We had all felt that some tournaments had gotten away from us earlier this season. We were really motivated to come out and play well in this last fall tournament. It was funny actually. We had a quick team meeting the night before to discuss the normal things -- like when are we going to meet in the morning and other stuff like that. We normally also talk about how we have a goal at the tournament, we had to do this or we needed to do that. This time, we just sort of said, let's just go out there and have fun, play well and stay loose. That was our game plane and we stuck with it all tournament long. We just had fun and stayed loose. Playing that way just helped us with the end result ... a win."
On his consistent play this fall season ... "I have felt the consistency has been there for me this fall. I have had a few rounds get away from me, but overall I have felt it has been a solid fall. The team too. We have been able to stay, accept for Inverness, among the top half of every field, if not being in contention to win. So, that has been really exciting to feel that when we go out and play well, we win and when we play okay we finish okay and among to top half. The mentality has really shifted. It's a really good feeling to get a team win, to get an individual win. It makes the long winter a lot more comfortable."
NOTES
• Michigan closed the fall season winning its second tournament of the fall season at the Wolverine at Mission Inn. The Wolverines opened the fall with a win at Purdue's Midwest Shootout, after winning in a scorecard playoff.
• The last time Michigan won two tournaments in a season was during the 1999-2000 season. The last time the Wolverines won two tournaments during the fall season was during the 1994-95 season.
• Michigan's 872 54-hole team output was the third best tournament total of the season. However, with a par of 72, the Wolverines plus-eight performance was the top 54-hole event showing this season.
• En route to the team win at the Wolverine at Mission Inn, Michigan posted four players among the top 15 -- Tim Schaetzel (first), Alexander Sitompul (fifth), Bill Rankin (tie-seventh) and Brian Ottenweller (tie-13th). It marks the second time this season the Wolverines have had four players among the top 15 at a tournament. The Wolverines also did at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate -- Nick Pumford (first), Schaetzel (fourth), Sitompul (tie-seventh) and Lion Kim (tie-11th).
• Tim Schaetzel book ended his fall season after claiming his second individual title of the fall and just second of his career. He opened the season tying for medalist honors with four other players at Purdue's Midwest Shootout.
• Tim Schaetzel's five-under 211 54-hole total at the Wolverine at Mission Inn was a season-best tournament total and the second best output for a Wolverine this season. However, with a par of 72, Schaetzel's five-under tournament was a season-best performance.
• Bill Rankin tied a season-best with his three-under 69 in the second round of the Wolverine at Mission Inn. He equaled the 69 he posted in the second round of the Windon Memorial Classic.
• Tim Schaetzel and Bill Rankin were the only Wolverines to start all six tournaments this fall. The duo has produced 10 of U-M's 25 single-round tallies of par or better. In addition, Schaetzel added to his consecutive tournament streak as he has started the last 33 tournaments for the Wolverines, while Rankin has started his last 17 straight events for U-M.
• Ross Millman (tie-32nd), Michael Slovitt (57th) and David Weisfeld (tie-43rd) all played in their first tournaments of the season at the Wolverine at Mission Inn. It also mark Weisfeld's first career collegiate event.
• Ross Millman's third-round two-over 74 was a career-best single-round tally. It topped his prior best of 78, which he has recorded three times in his career, including the first and second rounds of the Wolverine at Mission Inn.
Players Mentioned
