Michigan
NCAA Regional
Kim Co-Medalist, Michigan Wins Central Regional to Advance to NCAAs
5/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Zionsville, Ind.
Course: Wolf Run Golf Course (par 71, 7,025 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Central Regional
U-M Standing: 1st Place of 14 Teams (278-288-275/841, -11)
Top U-M Individual: Lion Kim, tie-1st (71-69-65/205, -8)
Next U-M Event: Wed-Mon., May 31-June 6 -- at NCAA Championships (Stillwater, Okla.)
• Photo Gallery
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. -- Senior Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) tied a career best with a final-round, six-under 65 to win co-medalist honors and lead the University of Michigan men's golf team to the program's first NCAA Regional title today (Saturday, May 21) at Wolf Run Golf Club. U-M won the Central Regional with an 11-under 841, two strokes ahead of runner-up Illinois to earn a berth into the NCAA Championships, to be held May 31-June 6 at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.
The Wolverines set a program regional single-round record in the first round on Thursday (May 19) with a six-under 278, as junior Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview) and sophomore Jack Schultz (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) carded matching 68s, while Kim and freshman Joey Garber (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey) added even-par 71s to put U-M just a shot out of the lead.
On Friday (May 20), Garber's three-under 68 and Kim's two-under 69 paced the play for the Wolverines, who closed with a 288 to drop to third, four shots back of co-leaders No. 9 Illinois and No. 3 Alabama.
The Wolverines caught fire today, playing the back nine holes at nine under. In addition to Kim's six-under 65, Thompson shot a three-under 68 and Garber tallied a one-under 70 to help the Wolverines set another single-round program regional record of nine-under 275 and vault atop the leaderboard.
Individually, the Maize and Blue had four players close among the top 20, with Kim winning his second event of the season with a career-best, eight-under 205 (71-69-65) and Garber tying for fourth with a career-best four-under 209 (71-68-70) for his second career top-five finish.
Thompson closed his regional sandwiching rounds of 68 around a second-round 77 to tie for 11th at even-par 213, while Schultz tied for 16th at a season-best 215 (68-75-72). Sophomore Rahul Bakshi (Chandigarh, India/St. John's) rounded out the Wolverine starters in a tie for 57th at 229 (79-76-74).
Final Standings
1. MICHIGAN 278-288-275 = 841 (-11)
2. Illinois 277-285-281 = 843
3. Alabama 278-284-285 = 847
4. Tennessee 287-297-281 = 865
Iowa 285-289-291 = 865
6. Stanford 284-292-293 = 869
7. Charlotte 295-288-292 = 875
8. Indiana 293-295-294 = 882
Wake Forest 301-291-290 = 882
Florida State 291-295-296 = 882
11. Memphis 292-297-304 = 893
12. Wichita State 301-303-302 = 906
13. UMKC 312-300-295 = 907
14. Sacred Heart 319-313-318 = 950
Top Individuals
1. Lion Kim, U-M 71-69-65 = 205 (-8) Luke Guthrie, Illinois 69-71-65 = 205 3. Bud Cauley, Alabama 68-71-68 = 207 4. Joey Garber, U-M 71-68-70 = 209 Hunter Hamrick, Alabama 68-72-69 = 209 Garrick Porteous, Tennessee 71-68-70 = 209 7. Chris Brant, Iowa 68-71-71 = 210 Danny Keddie, Tennessee 69-75-66 = 210 9. Lee Bedford, Wake Forest 73-70-69 = 212 Scott Langley, Illinois 68-69-75 = 212 11. Matt Thompson, U-M 68-77-68 = 213 David Chung, Stanford 69-71-73 = 213 Corey Ziedonis, Indiana 70-74-69 = 213
Other Michigan Individuals
T16. Jack Schultz 68-75-72 = 215 T57. Rahul Bakshi 79-76-74 = 229
N O T E S
• Michigan won its first NCAA Regional title in school history. The Wolverines previous-best finish at a regional was fifth at the 2009 Southwest Regional. The NCAA went to the regional format in 1991. U-M has made six total regional appearances since then.
• By virtue of the NCAA Central Regional title, Michigan advances to the NCAA Championships for the second time in three years. It marks the 22nd time in 34 total NCAA postseason appearances, the Wolverines advance to the national tournament. U-M won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1934 and 1935.
• Michigan's win at the NCAA Central Regional is the second title for the Wolverines this season and the 41st in U-M history. Earlier in the fall, the Wolverines won the 2010 Windon Memorial Classic, held Sept. 26-27. Lion Kim took medalist honors that weekend as well -- the first individual title of his career. Kim's win gives U-M 38 medalist honors in school history.
• Michigan's team title at the NCAA Central Regional is the eighth in the U-M career of head coach Andrew Sapp. He is now tied for the all-time lead for wins by a head coach at Michigan with Jim Carras (1982-2002) and Bert Katzenmeyer (1947-68).
• In his coaching career, Andrew Sapp has helped 16 teams reach an NCAA Regional. With the Wolverines team title, he now has three regional titles -- U-M (2011), Purdue (2001, '02). He also has nine total top-five regional finishes.
• Michigan made its fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance and sixth overall since the NCAA went to the regional format starting in 1991.
• After setting the program record for lowest regional team round with a six-under 278 in the first round, the Wolverines lowered it in the third round with a nine-under 275.
• Lion Kim's eight-under 205 54-hole total was not only a career best, but it was the second-best tally in U-M history. Kim's prior best was a six-under 207 at the 2010 Windon Memorial Classic.
• Lion Kim's final-round, six-under 65 tied his career-best single round tally. He shot a seven-under 65 in the first round of the 2010 Bridgestone Intercollegiate, played Oct. 23-24. Both rounds were just a stroke away from the U-M record of 64 held by Bill Rankin (2006-09), Christian Vozza (2003-06) and Michael Harris (1997-2000).
• Joey Garber set a new career best for a 54-hole tournament total with a 209 at the NCAA Central Regional. He topped the 2010 he had at the both the 2010 Ridges and 2010 Bridgestone Intercollegiate.
• Michigan's Lion Kim and Stanford's David Chung both competed as amateurs at the 2011 Masters. However, at the central regional, Kim tied for medalist honors, while Chung tied for 11th at even-par 213 (69-71-73) as Stanford was sixth, just missing the cut.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the final day of the NCAA Central Regional ... "We just tore up the back nine. It was awesome. At one point, I was talking with the Illinois coach on No. 12 and they were just tearing it up and I said to him you are going to run away with it and then low and behold, they started backing up and we started making birdies and just kept going from there. It was a fun back-nine.
"Lion (Kim) leading the way for us, hurt and everything, was just a truly amazing and courageous effort. It (his ankle) was hurting him worse today than it did yesterday, but I guess it loosened up and the adrenaline helped him make it through. For him to just make it through, and for that matter even play, and then be the co-champion was just incredible. It was such a tough and gutty performance. Joey (Garber) just played fantastic. Matt (Thompson) had a great bounce back, playing the back nine at four under. We just played so well on that back nine."
On his thoughts of U-M winning the Central Regional ... "Seeing these guys come under the gun and win this thing was just fun. It was especially fun for me because the last three regionals we were sweating everything out until the final putt. This time we were just trying to win it instead of making the cut. It made it a lot more enjoyable for me, for sure. All five guys really had a great, great event. When you have four guys finish in the top 20 and two guys in the top five you know you are going to have a good chance to win."
On the team effort it took to win the Central Regional ... "When Matt (Thompson) was not on his game yesterday others stepped it up. Today when others were not up to their best Matt stepped up his game and really helped us. That says a lot about this team. Everyone helped out at moments or at key times to help us get this win. Obviously, Lion (Kim) and Joey (Garber) played great all week and both had a chance to win it, and Lion did. Jack (Schultz) really came through for us when it counted. Even Rahul (Bakshi) played really well today. We did not necessarily count his score, but in order to advance we need to make sure we did not count a bad score. For him to play well, helped solidify we were going to advance. It gave the other guys confidence and took the pressure off of them. They were able to go after it and they really performed well. I was very proud of his effort here this week."
On the program continuing to grow and advance ... "It's just a lot of hard work put in by these young men. They have the desire. They have tasted it before -- like Matt (Thompson) and Lion (Kim) in 2009. They wanted to get back there. These younger guys have fed off that desire. It has really been neat to see. This has been a special week for us and we are not done. We have to get ready for Stillwater and Karsten Creek and keep the momentum going. The nice thing for us was this course (Wolf Run) was tough. It was good preparation for what we are going to see as the national championship course."
U-M Senior Lion Kim
On playing the NCAA Central Regional injured ... "I almost had to pull out because it (ankle) was hurting so bad. I just knew I had to fight it out. As the leader and captain of this team, I just did not want to let my team down. I knew our team was a good team. We were just waiting for all five guys to really play well the same weekend. I just had a feel this would be a special week.
"I did not want hurt this team because of me pulling out or being injured. That was the last thing I wanted. I told myself to gut it out. It was painful. I limped all three front nines before it warmed up, but there is something about this team and the energy I get from them that it just gives you the will to compete and play for them and play for Michigan. I knew this was a great chance for us to advance to the national championship and I was not going to give up."
On winning medalist honors ... "It feels good. Winning it as a team and winning it as an individual is special. Obviously, Big Tens was a disappointment for me, but this definitely will help me to bounce back confidence-wise."
On his final-round battle with Illinois' Luke Guthrie ... "It was so much fun. He and I knew we were tied for the lead and we really went after each other with birdies and eagles here and there. He played awesome. He knew he had to make the putt on 18 to tie me and he made a 10-footer for birdie to tie me, but you have to give him a lot of props for his effort. It was so much fun you sometimes almost want it to end the way it did."
On his closing eagle on No. 17 that helped him to medalist honors and eventually seal the win for U-M ... "My second shot in flared a little right and it ended up in a bunker, but luckily I had a great lie to hit out. I was only in the bunker once this week and that was it -- on the 53rd hole. I just knew if I stayed aggressive through the golf shot it would end up nice. In all honesty, I was very lucky because it went in, but it was a great shot. Even if it didn't go in it would have been less than a foot away."
On his special senior season ... "Overall, I have had some highs and lows, but this senior season has been very, very special and I cannot complain one bit about it. It's been a great career at Michigan, but we are not done yet. We are far from over, hopefully, we can do really well at nationals and that would make my four years here even better. My goal is to get these guys prepared for nationals. This was a great team effort and victory, but we need to shift our focus and practice hard for the next event to give us a chance to compete in the match play portion and then for a national title."
Players Mentioned
