Michigan
FAU Spring Break Championship
Kim's Final Round Boosts Michigan to Runner-up at FAU
3/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Delray Beach, Fla.
Course: Gleneagles Country Club (par 71, 6,772 yards)
Tournament: FAU Spring Break Championship
U-M Standing: 2nd Place of 14 Teams (287-292-282/861)
Top U-M Individual: Lion Kim, tie-4th (70-75-67/212)
Next Event: Fri-Sat., April 10-11 -- at River Landing Intercollegiate (Wallace, N.C.)
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Using a pair of sub-par final rounds individually, the University of Michigan men's golf team tallied a two-under 282 final-round team score today (Sunday, March 29) to move up the leaderboard for the second straight day and close as runner-up with an 861 54-hole total at the 2009 FAU Spring Break Championship at Gleneagles Country Club.
Lion Kim
The Wolverines, who posted their fifth top-three finish of the season, opened with a three-over 287 and sat in fifth place after the first round as sophomore Lion Kim's (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) one-under 70 and senior co-captain Bill Rankin's (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) even-par 71 helped U-M get off to a solid start. U-M followed with a 292 in the second round -- paced by a one-under 70 from freshman Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS). Despite the tally, the Wolverines were able to move up two positions and sit third after 36 holes, as the top half of the field all finished the day all bundled up, shooting within four shots of each other.
With scores improving across the board in the final round, Kim caught fire with a bogey-free round coupled with four birdies, posting his eighth at-or-below par round this season with a four-under 67. Combined with senior co-captain Nick Pumford's (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) one-under 70 and Thompson's even-par 71, the Wolverines closed with a two-under 282 to move up one more spot and finish as the runner-up with an 861 total.
Michigan was unable to catch Big Ten rival Illinois (277-292-278), which led from start to finish and won with a five-under 847 total, while nearby Eastern Michigan closed third at 864 (283-298-283). The Illini's Scott Langley also led all 54 holes, closing with medalist honors with a seven-under 205 (65-70-70), while Northwestern's Jonathon Bowers was the runner-up at 207 (67-68-72).
Using his strong play all tournament long, Kim led U-M for the third time this season, posting a career-best one-under 212 tournament total (70-75-67), which placed him for fourth individually. It marked the sixth different Wolverine this season to finish an event under par. Throughout the tournament, Kim posted eight birdies, which helped negate his seven bogeys, and he parred the rest of the 39 holes in the event.
In just his second start of his career, Thompson posted a career-best finish and his first top-10 placing as he tied for 10th with a 215 total. After opening with a three-over 74 in the first round, Thompson led U-M in the second round as his five birdies erased two bogeys and a double-bogey to help him close with a one-under 70. In the final round, he was steady from the start to the finish as he parred all 18 holes to close at even-par 71 to help the Wolverines to their second runner-up finish of the season. Pumford posted his third top-20 finish of the season, tying for 14th with a 218 total (72-76-70), while Rankin tied for 27th with a 221 total (71-72-78). In his first career start, junior Michael Slovitt (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier HS) tied for 45th with a 224 total (75-75-74).
The Wolverines will have a few weeks off before closing the regular-season schedule with a trip to Wallace, N.C., Friday and Saturday, April 10-11, for the 2009 River Landing Intercollegiate. The 54-hole event will be played at the River Landing Golf Course.
Team Standings
1. Illinois 277-292-278 = 847 (-5) 2. MICHIGAN 287-292-282 = 861 3. Eastern Michigan 283-298-283 = 864 4. Northwestern 286-288-297 = 871 5. Ohio State 280-299-294 = 873 6. Wisconsin 291-294-293 = 878 7. Memphis 294-293-293 = 880 8. Iowa 291-297-296 = 884 9. Florida Atlantic 299-294-294 = 887 10. Notre Dame 294-296-302 = 892 11. Marquette 298-311-285 = 894 12. Missouri 297-300-298 = 895 13. Northern Illinois 306-306-288 = 900 14. St. John's 310-298-299 = 907
Top Individuals
1. Scott Langley, Illinois 65-70-70 = 205 (-7)
2. Jonathan Bowers, Northwestern 67-68-72 = 207
3. Cam Burke, Eastern Michigan 64-75-72 = 211
4. LION KIM, U-M 70-75-67 = 212
Chris DeForest, Illinois 71-72-69 = 212
Bo Hoag, Ohio State 68-72-72 = 212
Jordan Payne, Memphis 72-70-70 = 212
8. Luke Guthrie, Illinois 66-76-71 = 213
Dan Woltman, Wisconsin 71-72-70 = 213
10. MATT THOMPSON, U-M 74-70-71 = 215
Kelly McHugh, Florida Atlantic 74-73-68 = 215
Josh Dupont, Northwestern 67-76-72 = 215*
* Played as individual
Other Michigan Individuals
T14. Nick Pumford 72-76-70 = 218 T27. Bill Rankin 71-72-78 = 221 T45. Michael Slovitt 75-75-74 = 224
NOTES
• The runner-up finish at the FAU Spring Break Championship gives Michigan five top-three finishes this season. The Wolverines won the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and the Wolverine Intercollegiate to open the fall season. The Maize and Blue was the runner-up in the inaugural Big Ten Match Play Championship to open the spring season and also holds a third-place showing at the Bridgestone Intercollegiate, which closed the fall season.
• Michigan's final-round, two-under 282 gives the Wolverines five team rounds under par this season. U-M's other under-par rounds include: a season-best and school-record-tying nine-under 275 (second, Wolverine Intercollegiate), a six-under 282 (second, Bridgestone Intercollegiate), a two-under 282 (first, Wolverine Intercollegiate) and a one-under 287 (first, Puerto Rico Classic).
• Michigan's 861 total this weekend is the second-best 54-hole tournament total this season. U-M had a season-best 841 in the team win at the Wolverine Intercollegiate.
• Lion Kim's career-best one-under 212, 54-hole performance is his sixth individual 54-hole tournament tally under par this season. Kim topped his prior best 54-hole mark of 213, tallied at the 2008 Puerto Rico Classic.
• In the second start of his career, Matt Thompson set a new career best with a tie for 10th place individually. He closed with a 215 total after rounds of 74, 70 and 71. He now has three top 20-finishes on the season.
• Michigan tallied six individual rounds at or below par. Lion Kim led the way with a four-under 67 (final) and a one-under 70 (first), while Matt Thompson had a one-under 70 (second) and an even-par 71 (final). Nick Pumford and Bill Rankin each had one -- one-under 70 (final) and even-par 71 (first), respectively. Overall, U-M has 41 rounds at or below par this season with Kim, Pumford and Rankin all tied for the team lead with eight apiece.
• There have been only three Wolverines to lead U-M in a tournament this entire season. With Lion Kim's tie for fourth he closes as the top individual in three events this season. Bill Rankin and Nick Pumford are the other two Wolverines to lead the Maize and Blue individually this season; each has also done it three times.
• Bill Rankin has now started 33 straight tournaments and has not missed a start in the last three seasons. Rankin -- along with Nick Pumford and Lion Kim -- has started all nine events this season.
• Michael Slovitt made his first career start, while Matt Thompson started for the second time in his five career tournaments.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the runner-up finish ... "It was a well-balanced attack for us this weekend. Obviously, Lion (Kim) played two very good rounds, shooting under par twice and finishing tied for fourth. We had contributions from everyone in the lineup. So that was an important part for us to get the job done this weekend and finish second. We would have loved to have beaten Illinois, but they played excellent today and we spotted them too big of a lead on the first day, but hats off to them on a great tournament. I was very proud of the guys and the way different ones stepped up at key times. This was a great team effort."
On the development of the team ... "We have had some real good play this year. It was great this tournament to see Matt (Thompson) do well. He did a good job for us this week. He was able to put some important scores on the board the second two rounds. We were pleased with the way he handled everything in his first year. Even Michael (Slovitt) this weekend. He was the highest-rated five-man going into the final round. That says a lot about how he is playing and how our depth is developing. We have a lot of good players on this team, which helps gives us some good depth, but good teams do. Look at the top-20 and top-30 teams in the country and they are all, unfortunately, leaving good players at home every week. It's nice to see we are reaching the depth that we need going into the stretch run of our season. It will be interesting to see where that takes us."
Players Mentioned
