Michigan
NCAA Championships (Day 1)
Sophomore Duo Puts U-M in Ninth After Day One of NCAA Finals
5/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site:Toledo, Ohio
Course: Inverness Club (par 71, 7,255 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Championships (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Standing: 9th Place of 30 Teams (296)
Top U-M Individual: Lion Kim and Alexander Sitompul, tie-16th (72)
Next Event: Wed-Sat., May 27-30 -- at NCAA Championships (Toledo, Ohio), 1:47 p.m.
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Using one-over 72s from sophomores Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) and Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep), the University of Michigan men's golf team opened the NCAA Championships with a 296 team total today (Tuesday, May 26) to sit ninth after day one at the Inverness Club. U-M is two shots out of the top eight, which will advance to compete in match play for the team title after 54 holes.
Overall, No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Oklahoma State are tied atop the leaderboard after the first day, tallying four-over 288s.No. 28-ranked Chattanooga used a 292 to hold third. The individual leaderboard has a Big Ten feel as Northwestern's Jonathan Bowers and Illinois' Scott Langley, along with N.C. State's Matt Hill, who is playing as an individual, are all tied for the top spot after carding two-under 69s. Overall, just eight of the 156 players in the field finished the day under par.
As U-M tangled with changing weather conditions throughout the first 18 holes, which went from rainy to warm and sunny, Kim -- after bogeying No. 3 -- birdied No. 4 to stay even through the first six holes. Missed approaches led to back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8, and he made the turn at two over par. With the weather starting to clear and the winds drying the rough, Kim posted birdies on Nos. 11 and 13 to level his score with five holes remaining. Missing the fairway off the tee on his last three holes, Kim brushed off the mistakes to only bogey No. 17 and close the round with a one-over 72, putting him tied for 16th.
Sitompul mirrored his classmate's round as he opened with a bogey on his first hole before capitalizing with a birdie on the very next hole followed with another on No. 4, putting him one under.Despite being the only Wolverine to have a score under par at any point on the day, Sitompul bogeyed in the middle of the front nine and on No. 9 and made the turn at one over. He then gained a stroke back with a birdie on No. 10. After parring the next four holes, a bogey on No. 15 was the last mark on his card as he closed with U-M's second one-over 72 of the round, putting him 16th along with Kim.
Freshman Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) got off to a strong start, playing even-par golf through his first 11 holes, as birdies on Nos. 4 and 11 erased bogeys on Nos. 3 and 9. However, he posted four bogeys in his final six holes to close with a four-over 75 and in a tie for 55th. After a slow start, senior co-captain Bill Rankin (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) finished with a 77, good for 93rd, while fellow senior co-captain Nick Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) sits tied for 145th with an 81.
With 18 of 54 holes in the books, the Wolverines open their second 18 holes on Wednesday (May 27). U-M will once again be paired with Duke and Iowa but will start on the 10th tee at 1:47 p.m. At the end of the 54 holes, an individual champion will be crowned and only the top eight teams will advance to a match-play playoff to determine the 2009 team national champion.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Oklahoma State 288
Georgia 288
3. Chattanooga 292
4. Washington 293
San Diego 293
6. Arizona State 294
Ohio State 294
Tennessee 294
9. MICHIGAN 296
10. Arkansas 297
Duke 297
12. Texas A&M 298
Northwestern 298
Alabama 298
15. Illinois 299
TCU 299
17. Central Florida 300
18. Georgia Tech 301
Iowa 301
20. Wake Forest 302
21. Texas Tech 303
22. USC 305
Stanford 305
24. Oregon 306
Virginia 306
UCLA 306
South Carolina 306
28. Texas 308
29. Florida 310
Arizona 310
Top Individuals
1. Jonathan Bowers, Northwestern 69
Scott Langley, Illinois 69
Matt Hill, N.C. State 69*
4. Alex Ching, San Diego 70
Tom Hoge, TCU 70
Philip Francis, UCLA 70
David Holmes, Tennessee 70
Nick Taylor, Washington 70
9. Simon Ward, Central Florida 71
Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga 71
Corey Nagy, Charlotte 71*
Russell Henley, Georgia 71
Trent Leon, Oklahoma State 71
Jamie Marshall, Arkansas 71
Brian Harman, Georgia 71
* playing as individual
Michigan Individuals
T16. Lion Kim 37-35 = 72 T16. Alexander Sitompul 36-36 = 72 T55. Matt Thompson 36-39 = 75 T93. Bill Rankin 39-38 = 77 T145. Nick Pumford 39-42 = 81
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On today's round ... "We really wanted to win the morning wave, but we didn't do that. Number 16 and 17 played tough for us today and we lost some shots coming down the stretch. We were hoping that when it stopped raining we would play a little bit better; we got great conditions for the back nine. Still, you can't win it in the first day, but you can lose it in the first day and we definitely didn't do that. We are still in good shape; we just need to play a good round tomorrow afternoon, see where that stacks us up for Thursday and go from there. I was really pleased with the way Alexander (Sitompul) and Lion (Kim) played, they carried the ball for us a bit today. That was good to see; hopefully, we can get the rest of the guys to pick it up a little bit tomorrow."
On dealing with playing in the NCAA Championship ... "I think these guys have been through so much already during their careers that it's just another tournament. It's another tournament that is run very well, but we have played against so many of these teams this year and in the past. Obviously, there are going to be nerves, its the national championship, but I don't think that played a huge factor. I think sometimes it helps. I think with Alexander (Sitompul) it helped him focus a little bit more."
U-M Sophomore Lion Kim
On his first round ... "It started raining early, so I knew I had to be patient out there. The first couple of holes my game plan was to just hit the fairway, I didn't care how short I hit it, just hit the fairway and the middle of the green. When the weather cleared up a bit, I played some aggressive holes and I tried to take advantage of my opportunities. Coming in, I missed three fairways in a row, and I haven't done that in awhile. I knew I was thinking ahead about making birdies and I shouldn't be thinking ahead because this course is so demanding and tough that you have to take it shot by shot."
On the team going into tomorrow ... "I think we just need to concentrate on hitting fairways, if that is with a five iron or a driver, you have to hit the fairway. Then, if you can get a wedge in your hand, you have to take advantage of that. When the birdie opportunities come, you have to make sure that you take advantage of them."
U-M Sophomore Alexander Sitompul
On his opening round ... "It seemed a lot like the regional, I hit the ball all over the place and just had to try to get the ball up and down. I think that we were able to be a little more aggressive when the weather warmed up and looked a bit better, but I tried not to worry too much about the conditions."
NOTES
• Michigan is making its first NCAA Championships appearance in 12 years. U-M's last appearance was in 1997, when the Wolverines closed 25th after a 36-hole total of 597 (300-297). The score did not advance them past 36 holes. Overall, it is U-M's 23rd NCAA postseason appearance as a team.
• All five Wolverines are making their NCAA Championships debut. Four of U-M's five starters have two years experience playing in an NCAA Regional. Bill Rankin, Nick Pumford, Alexander Sitompul and Lion Kim have back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances for the Maize and Blue.
• Andrew Sapp has now taken three different schools and four total programs to the NCAA Championships. Overall, he is making his 11th trip to nationals. In his coaching career, he has helped lead North Carolina, Purdue's men's and women's teams and now the Wolverines to the national tournament.
• After U-M dedicated the 2009 Big Ten Championships to former U-M great Ed Schalon, who passed away in December, the Wolverines continued in the NCAA postseason dedicating U-M's run to another U-M legend, Woodrow Malloy, who passed away this May. Malloy was the last surviving member of U-M's 1934 and 1935 NCAA championship team
• With his start at the NCAA Championships, Bill Rankin has now made 37 straight and has not missed a start in the last three seasons. Nick Pumford made his 23rd straight start for the Wolverines dating back to his junior year, while Lion Kim extended his consecutive start streak to 19. All three are the only Wolverines to start all 13 events this season.
Players Mentioned
