Michigan
The Maxwell
Rankin Posts Second Individual Career Win at Maxwell
5/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ardmore, Okla.
Course: Dornick Hills Country Club (par 70, 6,453 yards)
Tournament: The Maxwell
U-M Standing: 2nd Place of 10 Teams (270-267-275/812)
Top U-M Individual: Bill Rankin, 1st (67-66-69/202)
Next Event: Thu-Sat., May 15-17 -- NCAA Central Regional (Columbus, Ohio)
ARDMORE, Okla. -- With an eight-under and career-best 202 54-hole total junior Bill Rankin (Traverse City, Mich./Central) earned medalist honors for the second time this season and in his career, leading the University of the Michigan men's golf team to a runner-up finish Sunday (May 11) with a 28-under par 812 team total at the Maxwell at Dornick Hills Country Club.
Rather than play the traditional 5-count-4 scoring format, scoring at the Maxwell was altered to all five team members playing the same hole at the same time, counting the four lowest scores per hole. With this new way of playing a tournament, senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) and Rankin paced the way for the Wolverines in the opening round. Schaetzel posted a career-best four-under 66, while Rankin had a career-best three-under 67 to help the Wolverines tally a 270 first round total.
In the second round it was Rankin's turn to lead the team, lowering his career-best performance with a four-under 66 in the second round. Combined with a one-under 69 from freshman Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep), U-M totaled a 267 second round total, putting the Maize and Blue in first place with a 23-under 537 total -- just three shots ahead of host and seven-time champion Oklahoma State (266-274/540).
In the final round shootout, Michigan slipped its early opportunities but was again led by Rankin, who posted his third straight under-par round with a one-under 69. With 71s from Schaetzel and junior Nick Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles), the Wolverines tallied a final-round 275, which was not enough to hold off a late rally from Oklahoma State, which used a 269 final-round total to win its eighth straight title with an 809 total (266-274-269).
Rankin led from start to finish to win medalist honors by four strokes with an eight-under 202 total (67-66-69). Oklahoma State's Kevin Tway was the runner-up with a 206 total (67-69-70), while Oklahoma City University's Anthony Michael was third at 207 (65-72-70).
U-M's Schaetzel closed tied for fourth, producing his fourth top-five finish of the season with a 209 total. After opening with the career-best four-under 66, he followed with rounds of 72 and 71. Sitompul posted his fourth career top-20 performance as he tied for 13th with a 214 total. After opening with a one-over 71, Schaetzel got in the red with a one-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 74 in the final round. Other Wolverine finishes included Pumford, tying for 36th with a 221 total (77-73-71) and freshman Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep), tying for 45th with a 224 total (75-74-75).
The Wolverines, who are the No. 15 seed, will now head to the NCAA Central Regional at Columbus, Ohio, Thursday through Saturday (May 15-17). The 54-hole stroke play event -- with 18 holes played each day -- will be held at the OSU's Scarlet Course. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not from a qualifying team will compete at one of three regional sites.
From each regional the top 10 teams and top two individuals not from a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Finals at the Boilermaker Golf Complex-The Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind., Wednesday through Saturday (May 28-31) hosted by Purdue.
Team Standings
1. Oklahoma State 266-274-269 = 809 (-31) 2. MICHIGAN 270-267-275 = 812 3. Wichita State 271-273-275 = 819 4. Oklahoma City University 270-273-278 = 821 5. Middle Tennesse State 271-276-276 = 823 6. Southern Methodist 273-279-277 = 829 7. Tulsa 274-276-282 = 832 8. Colorado 282-278-274 = 834 9. Oklahoma 282-278-289 = 849 10. Missouri 280-287-288 = 855
Top Individuals
1. BILL RANKIN, U-M 67-66-69 = 202 (-8)
2. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State 67-69-70 = 206
3. Anthony Michael, OCU 65-72-70 = 207
4. TIM SCHAETZEL, U-M 66-72-71 = 209
Chas Narramore, MTSU 69-72-68 = 209
6. Ben Tewes, Southern Methodist 69-73-68 = 210
7. Julian Valenciana, OCU 72-68-71 = 211
Nico Geyger, Tulsa 72-69-70 = 211
9. Dustin Garza, Wichita State 66-74-72 = 212
Ryan Spears, Wichita State 72-69-71 = 212
Trent Whitekiller, Oklahoma State 72-72-68 = 212
Other Michigan Individuals
T13. Alexander Sitompul 71-69-74 = 214 T36. Nick Pumford 77-73-71 = 221 T45. Lion Kim 75-74-75 = 224
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the team's performance at the Maxwell ... "I am definitely excited about how we played and how we are playing going into the regional. We are improving as a team. Obviously for Bill (Rankin) to get this win was another boost for him. He has really improved a lot this past few weeks. For Tim (Schaetzel) to finish in the top five and even Alexander (Sitompul) -- even though he didn't play that well in the final round -- to finish in the top 15 really helps give even more of a confidence booster for them and for us. We have a few things to work on before we head to Ohio State, but I feel good about how we played. I wish we could have gotten off to a better start than we did today. We played very poorly on the front nine and actually were three over through 13 holes, but then we played the last five holes eight under -- and it could have been even better than that. We just missed some makeable birdie putts down the stretch. It would have been nice to push Oklahoma State a little harder, but I am just very happy with how the guys played."
On playing a tournament with the altered scoring format ... "It was an interesting way to do things. Playing together was fun. The scoring format was different and maybe in some ways bad. Sometimes those bogey putts didn't mean as much as they would if you were keeping your own score a little more tightly. Maybe that is why we made a couple of double bogeys. But really, looking at the overall tournament we lost by three in this format and would have lost by three in the normal format of scoring. So, it seems like it played out the same way."
U-M Junior Bill Rankin
On winning his second career event ... "It feels great! This is a lot different because the first even I won was just one round (Purdue Midwest Shootout). It makes a big difference to me because the field here was still a pretty good field. Some of the best players in the country were here and I put it together for three straight rounds. That was definitely something I needed to do and haven't done all spring. I fought my way through a couple of bad starts this weekend, but with the preparation I have put in I have only gotten better as we have progressed. It is just exciting for me. There is still a lot of work to be done in the short time frame before the regional, but this is certainly something I am going to build on and draw from when we go to Ohio State."
On the team's preparations for the Central Regional ... "I was thinking about it and most of the guys are in real good shape for how we are playing. Everyone has a few things they need to clean up, but that was why this weekend was such a good tournament for us to play in before we head to the regional. Instead of staying home and playing some skins games with each other, we were able to be competitive with team's we are going to see this upcoming week. It was huge that we get to identify the weaknesses in our games from three competitive rounds. Everyone needs to just be able to put it all together more consistently and eliminate some of the easy mistakes. We just need to grind it out and take care of business like we have when we play well."
On playing in the altered format at the Maxwell ... "It was a lot of fun. We had a good time this week. I think a lot of us were anxious to see what it was going to be like because we haven't done anything like that before. I don't know about anybody else on the team, but I was a little worried it was going to be like a practice round, which can get old quick. I mean I love the guys, but it gets old quick. But we had a lot of fun. It was great to have the coaches with us rather than see them just on the par 3s or par 5s during a normal tournament. We just had a lot of camaraderie coming in rather than the guys just watching and clap."
NOTES
• Michigan's runner-up finish at the Maxwell is the second of the season and the sixth top-5 finish this season. The Wolverines were also the runner-up at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate (Sept. 22-23). Other top five finishes include: winning Purdue's Midwest Shootout (Sept. 8) and the Wolverine at Mission Inn (Nov. 5-6) and fifth-place finishes at the 2008 Big Ten Championships and the Windon Memorial Classic (Oct. 7-8).
• Scoring for the Maxwell was not the traditional 5-count-4 team format. In this event, all five team members play the same hole at the same time and count the four lowest scores. In traditional scoring, U-M would have posted team rounds of 279, 280 and 285 for a four-over 844 54-hole total.
• With medalist honors at the Maxwell, Bill Rankin won his second tournament of the season and the second in his career. In the season opener, Rankin tied with four other players -- including teammate Tim Schaetzel -- for medalist honors at Purdue's Midwest Shootout (Sept. 8).
• After winning the Maxwell, Bill Rankin has led Michigan at the last four events. Overall he has finished as the top Wolverine in six of the 12 tournaments this season.
• With his eight-under 202 total (67-66-69) at the Maxwell -- which was a par 70, Bill Rankin smashed his prior best 54-hole tournament total of 215 (70-73-72) set at the 2007 Pinehurst Intercollegiate (March 18-20), which was a par 72.
• After setting a career-best with a three-under 67 in the first round of the Maxwell, Bill Rankin lowered his single round best tally with a four-under 66 in the second round. Rankin's previous best mark with a three-under 68 in the third round of the 2006 Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 16-17).
• With three rounds under par at the Maxwell, Bill Rankin boosted his season total to 10 on the season. Tim Schaetzel is the team's overall leader with 11 in 2007-08.
• Pacing the way for the Wolverines in the first round, Tim Schaetzel set a new career-best for a single round with a four-under 66. He topped the four-under 67 he posted in the first round of the 2005 Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25).
• With his tie for fourth at the Maxwell with a 209 total, Tim Schaetzel has posted eight top 20 individual finishes in 12 events this season. Broken down further he now has four top 10 and four top 5 finishes this season.
• Tim Schaetzel and Bill Rankin are the only Wolverines to have started all 12 tournaments this season. In fact, with starts at the Maxwell, Schaetzel has started the last 40 events for the Wolverines, while Rankin has started the last 23 straight events for the Maize and Blue. In addition, Lion Kim has played in all 12 events this season with 11 starts.
Players Mentioned
