Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 3)
Trio Leads Wolverines to Tie for Eighth at Big Ten Championships
5/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: State College, Pa.
Course: Penn State's Blue Course (par 71, 7,202 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships
U-M Standing: 10th Place of 11 Teams (285-302-299-293/1179)
Top U-M Individual: Lion Kim, tie-13th (72-73-74-74/293)
Next Event: if selected, Thu-Sat., May 14-16 -- at NCAA Regional (TBD)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Paced by three top-20 individual finishes, the University of Michigan men's golf team posted a final-round 293 today (Sunday, May 3) to finish tied for eighth with Purdue with a 1,179 total at the 2009 Big Ten Championships, held at Penn State's Blue Course.
Lion Kim
The Wolverines opened the conference tournament in grand fashion, taking the early lead with a one-over 285 in the first round, paced by sophomore Alexander Sitompul's (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) two-under 69 and senior co-captain Bill Rankin's (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) even-par 71. Small mistakes added up in the second round as the Wolverines fell from first to eighth following a 302, despite a two-over 73 from sophomore Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) and a three-over 74 from freshman Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS).
Three 74s in the second round gave the Wolverines a 299 in the third round, but with the 11-team field improving, the Maize and Blue dropped to the 10th spot. Rankin used his experience in the final round to lead the charge, posting a one-over 72, while Sitompul carded a two-over 73 and Kim and senior co-captain Nick Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) had 74s to allow the Wolverines to tally a 293 final-round total and improve two positions into a tie for eighth with Purdue (293-297-283-306).
After taking the tournament lead midway through the third round, No. 15 Illinois held on to run away with the team title, posting a 13-stroke victory with a 1,149 72-hole total (292-288-284-285). Making a late-season conference tournament run, Minnesota (287-294-292-289) closed as the runner-up at 1,162, while Indiana placed third at 1,167 (286-295-294-292).
Northwestern's Eric Chen never looked back after grabbing the individual lead on day one as he held on to take the Big Ten individual title with a one-under 283 total (70-68-71-74). Penn State's Kevin Foley used his course familiarity but just missed out on medalist honors, finishing as the runner-up just one-shot back of Chen. Foley closed with an even-par 284 total (73-70-70-71). A trio of players tied for third as Minnesota teammates Derek Chang (71-73-71-71) and Ben Pisani (70-72-72-72) and Illinois' Chris DeForest (76-70-69-71) all tallied 286 totals.
As for the Wolverines, Kim hung around the top 15 all tournament long and placed 14th with a career-best, 72-hole tournament total of 293. After opening with a 72, he followed with a 73 to sit tied for 12th after the first day. His second round was highlighted with an eagle on the par-four 15th hole. Using a punch 7-iron from 148 yards out, his shot hit the green and rolled in for a deuce. He closed out the conference championship with back-to-back 74s to earn his fourth top-20 finish of the season.
Rankin and Sitompul closed tied for 17th with 295 totals, giving the Wolverine three individual finishes among the top 20. After getting off to a strong start with an even-par 71, Rankin fell off in rounds two and three, posting 78 and 74, respectively, before closing with a one-over 72 to nab his fourth top-20 finish of the season. Sitompul opened with his eighth sub-par round of the season with a two-under 69, before a 79 in the second round dropped him from the tournament lead and into a tie for 28th. Battling back, he closed with rounds of 74 and 73 to tally a career-best 72-hole tournament total.
In his first Big Ten Championship, Thompson finished 42nd with a 302 total after rounds of 73, 74, 79 and 76, while Pumford tied for 45th with a career-best, 72-hole total of 305 (77-77-77-74).
With the Big Ten Championships completed, the Wolverines will await the decision this Monday (May 4) from the NCAA committee at 6 p.m. on whether or not they will garner their second straight regional selection. The NCAA Regional is slated for Thursday through Saturday, May 14-16, with six sites in the newly re-formatted men's golf championships; Columbia will host at Galloway National Golf Club (Galloway, N.J.), Texas will host at University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas), San Francisco will host at Lake Merced Golf Club (San Francisco, Calif.), Oklahoma State will host at Karsten Creek Golf Club (Stillwater, Okla.), Central Florida will host at Red Tail Golf Club (Sorrento, Fla.) and Western Kentucky will host at The Club at Olde Stone (Bowling Green, Ky.).
Team Standings
1. Illinois 292-288-284-285 = 1149
2. Minnesota 287-294-292-289 = 1162
3. Indiana 286-295-294-292 = 1167
4. Ohio State 289-290-292-299 = 1170
Penn State 290-296-296-288 = 1170
6. Iowa 290-292-290-300 = 1172
7. Northwestern 290-296-287-304 = 1177
8. MICHIGAN 285-302-299-293 = 1179
Purdue 293-297-283-306 = 1179
10. Wisconsin 295-292-290-306 = 1183
11. Michigan State 293-296-312-309 = 1210
Top Individuals
1. Eric Chun, Northwestern 70-68-71-74 = 283
2. Kevin Foley, Penn State 73-70-70-71 = 284
3. Derek Chang, Minnesota 71-73-71-71 = 286
Chris DeForest, Illinois 76-70-69-71 = 286
Ben Pisani, Minnesota 70-72-72-72 = 286
6. Jorge Campillo, Indiana 69-73-73-72 = 287
7. Matt Hoffman, Illinois 72-69-72-75 = 288
8. Bo Hoag, Ohio State 72-72-71-74 = 289
9. Luke Guthrie, Illinois 72-75-72-71 = 290
10. Alex Martin, Indiana 72-77-71-71 = 291
Jack Newman, Michigan State 69-70-77-75 = 291
Dan Woltman, Wisconsin 72-69-72-78 = 291
Michigan Individuals
14. Lion Kim 72-73-74-74 = 293 T17. Bill Rankin 71-78-74-72 = 295 T17. Alexander Sitompul 69-79-74-73 = 295 42. Matt Thompson 73-74-79-76 = 302 T45. Nick Pumford 77-77-77-74 = 305
NOTES
• Michigan had not played at Penn State's Blue Course since the 1996 Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines tied for fourth with a 1,195 total in their last event in State College, Pa.
• Lion Kim, Alexander Sitompul and Nick Pumford set a new career-best, 72-hole tournament total at the Big Ten Championships. Kim's 293 total dropped 10 strokes from the 303 he posted at the 2008 Big Ten Championship. Sitompul's 295 tally bettered his 308 he posted at last season's conference tournament, while Pumford's 305 topped his 308 from a season ago at the conference championship.
• Lion Kim eagled the par-four No. 15 in the second round. He holed in from the fairway on his second shot, punching in a 7-iron from 148 yards out.
• Bill Rankin made his third Big Ten Championships start, while Nick Pumford, Lion Kim and Alexander Sitompul all made their second. Matt Thompson made his debut in the conference championship event.
• Following the Big Ten Championships, Bill Rankin has now made 35 straight starts and has not missed a start in the last three seasons. Nick Pumford made his 21st straight start for the Wolverines dating back to his junior year, while Lion Kim extended his consecutive start streak to 17. All three are the only Wolverines to start all 11 events this season.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the Big Ten Championships ... "We got off to a solid start shooting the lowest team round in the morning, but we couldn't sustain it, following with the worst round of the second round. Even after that, we still felt confident because we were only 11 shots out of the lead. We got off to a good start in the third round, making a couple of early birdies, but we stalled, making some three-putts and missing some greens on the tough holes. We started short-siding ourselves in the middle two rounds where we missed the green and then found ourselves in thick rough close to the hole. It is just really difficult to get up and down from there. In the final round, we got off to a good start and played solid, helping us to move up, which is always good. But in a tight field like this we were only 12 shots off third place, which isn't really much over 72 holes. We just had a bad middle two rounds and we just didn't make a whole lot of putts this weekend."
On his thoughts on the Wolverines making another NCAA Regional ... "With the success we had this season, our ranking as high as it is, and with the depth of the Big Ten, we should have a great shot at getting back to a regional. Hopefully, we will find out tomorrow where we will go and then have seven or eight days where we will not have any class or any exams; we can just eat, sleep and golf in preparations for the regional."
Players Mentioned
