Michigan
Wolverine Intercollegiate (Day 2)
O'Neill Gets Runner-Up, U-M Third at Wolverine Intercollegiate
9/17/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: U-M Golf Course (par 71, 6,704 yards)
Tournament: Wolverine Intercollegiate
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 11 Teams (288-285-283/856)
Top U-M Individual: Chris O'Neill, 2nd (69-71-66/206, -7)
Next U-M Event: Sun-Mon., Sept. 22-23 -- at Windon Memorial Classic (Lake Forest, Ill.), 9 a.m. CT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomore Chris O'Neill (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run HS) posted a career-best medalist runner-up finish, while the University of Michigan men's golf team opened its 2013-14 season with a third-place showing, tallying a 856 total at the Wolverine Intercollegiate, which wrapped up today (Tuesday, Sept. 17) at the U-M Golf Course.
In a back-and-forth final round, O'Neill helped keep the Wolverines' chances for a team title alive, firing a career-best five-under 66, while classmates Brett McIntosh (London, Ontario, Canada/Saunders Secondary School) and Andrew Yeager (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) each carded even par 71s, as U-M posted a one-under and tournament team-best 283.
First-day leader Michigan State tallied a closing four-under 280 to claim the team title with a one-under 851 (294-277-280). Lamar also finished with a four-under 280 but was two shots back of MSU to finish as the runner-up at 853 (285-288-280).
O'Neill closed as the top-finishing Wolverine for the seventh time in 13 career events as he posted a career-best seven-under 206. He opened with rounds of two-under 69 and even-par 71 and trailed first-day leader Cody Blick of San Jose State by eight shots. After Blick closed with an even-par 71, O'Neill missed medalist honors by three shots, as Blick completed play at 10-under 203 (68-64-71).
McIntosh sandwiched rounds of 71 around his one-under 70 in the second round to close with his fifth career top-10 finish, tying for sixth at one-under 212. Yeager fired a career-best 54-hole total by 16 shots, finishing with a three-over 216 and helping him tie for 16th.
In their collegiate debuts, freshman Bryce Evon (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Vincent Massey Secondary School) tied for 37th at 222 (75-72-75), and freshman Reed Hrynewich (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores HS) was 56th at 238 (80-78-80). Junior Noori Hyun (Seoul, Korea/Centreville HS [Va.]) played as an individual and tied for 37th at 222 (71-75-76).
The Wolverines will waste little time away from competition as they leave for Lake Forest, Ill., this weekend for Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic. The 54-hole event will be played Sunday and Monday, Sept. 22-23, at the Knollwood Club and feature six Big Ten teams in the 16-member field.
Final Team Standings
1. Michigan State 294-277-280 = 851 (-1) 2. Lamar 285-288-280 = 853 3. MICHIGAN 288-285-283 = 856 4. Xavier 292-288-280 = 860 5. Eastern Michigan 297-284-282 = 863 6. Penn State 291-284-289 = 864 7. San Jose State 292-292-286 = 870 8. Miami (Ohio) 292-284-295 = 871 9. Toledo 304-295-280 = 879 10. Detroit 305-297-294 = 896 11. Oakland 301-309-291 = 901
Top Individuals
1. Cody Blick, San Jose State 68-64-71 = 203 (-10)
2. CHRIS O'NEILL, U-M 69-71-66 = 206
3. Stephane Dubois, Lamar 69-74-67 = 210
Mitch Rutledge, Michigan State 70-66-74 = 210
5. Stuart Grehan, Eastern Michigan 75-69-67 = 211
6. BRETT MCINTOSH, U-M 71-70-71 = 212
Korey Ward, Xavier 71-70-71 = 212
8. Jens Talbert, Penn State 73-68-72 = 213
Other Michigan Individuals
T16. Andrew Yeager 73-72-71 = 216 T37. Bryce Evon 75-72-75 = 222 56. Reed Hrynewich 80-78-80 = 238 T37. Noori Hyun 71-75-76 = 222*
* played as individual
NOTES
• Chris O'Neill set a new career-best finish with his runner-up performance. He topped his third-place finish at the 2013 Detroit Golf Club Invitational.
• Chris O'Neill set a new career best for a 54-hole tournament total with his seven-under 206 and a single round with his five-under 66 in the final round. He topped his three-under 210 tallied at the 2012 Alister MacKenzie Invitational and his round of one-under 67 posted in the second round of the 2013 Detroit Golf Club Invitational.
• Brett McIntosh led the tournament field in par-5 scoring. With nine total, he played them six under (4.33), recording six birdies and three pars.
• Andrew Yeager set a new career best for a 54-hole tournament total with his three-over 216. He bettered his prior best -- by 16 shots -- which was a 232 posted at the 2013 Hoosier Invitational.
• Andrew Yeager tied his career-best single-round total with an even-par 71 in the final round. He set his career best with a 71 in the second round of the 2013 Detroit Golf Club Invitational.
• Chris O'Neill and Brett McIntosh have not missed a start in two seasons -- 13 consecutive events.
• Bryce Evon and Reed Hrynewich made their collegiate debuts and started their first event. Tom Swanson did not participate as he continues to rest from a summer injury.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On whether he expected this performance from his team in the first tournament ... "Yes -- we expect to play well on our home course. I felt like we played okay. If anything, I feel like we didn't execute some of the easier shots that we should had. The guys can all go back and find a couple that they could have done better. Ultimately, we were in it but just didn't execute our best at the very end."
On whether inexperience was an issue this week ... "I don't think so -- that's just golf. I think for the two freshmen to get their first college event out of the way, that's a good stop. They're both going to work really hard and come back better prepared next time. We're never going to talk about how young our players are. They've all got great experience, and I think we're ready to compete right away."
On the chance to play right away on Sunday at the Windon Memorial ... "I think that's good. Part of the reason we like 36-hole days is that you can get right back out in the afternoon and correct things. This is kind of the same thing with back-to-back tournaments to open the year. We're going to play great greens next week -- very similar to what we have here. Hopefully, we can keep the short games going the same way and just execute from the tee and the fairway a little bit better."
On what his team learned from this weekend ... "Just staying patient -- we wanted the guys to take care of the simple things first and take care of what was immediately in front of them. I think they did a pretty good job of that. They played with good intensity, but I don't think the adrenaline got the better of them. I think they handled it pretty well."
U-M Sophomore Chris O'Neill
On the potential of the team after seeing performances this week ... "It's good -- we're going in the right direction. I personally played a little better today -- the score was much better too. We have some things we need to clean up, but it's good to get these guys experience of being there in a tournament, myself included."
On whether he sees this tournament as a positive step ... "Not for me -- I'm too competitive. It's third place; that's what it is. It's a good building block, but we have a lot of work to do."
On playing right away again on Sunday at the Windon Memorial ... "I think it's good for us. I know Brett (McIntosh), Andrew (Yeager) and I are hitting it decent enough where we're going to play well, and Bryce (Evon) too -- Bryce is playing fine too. I think it's good for us to start getting into the tournament feel, playing week after week. I think we need that consistency."
U-M Sophomore Brett McIntosh
On the team's mentality moving forward ... "Everyone had their moments during the tournament. It's just a matter of capitalizing when you get those and grinding it out when it gets tough. I like our team's attitude, so I think even when things aren't going well, we can grind things out and finish strong."
On playing right away again on Sunday at the Windon Memorial ... "I think it's good for us. Being at Michigan, it definitely felt like home for us -- we're playing here most of the time. I wouldn't say it didn't feel like a tournament, it just felt more comfortable. Now that we have tournament experience under our belt, we can get a couple good day of practice in here and hit the road again."
U-M Sophomore Andrew Yeager
On his assessment of the tournament ... "It was a really good week. It was really good to put it together in my first tournament here. The summer was really good. I improved a lot, and it's starting to show. I'm really glad that I was able to put together three good rounds."
On the key for the young team moving forward ... "The key for us moving on is to just keep things simple and not worry so much about the things we can't control."
Players Mentioned
