Mueller Cards 66; Wolverines Shoot Even Par at NCAA Regional

Friday, May 15

Bremerton, Wash.

8:00 AM PT

Michigan

NCAA Washington Regional

Mueller Cards 66; Wolverines Shoot Even Par at NCAA Regional

5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

May 15, 2015

Kyle Mueller

• Washington Regional | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery

Site: Bremerton, Wash.
Course: Gold Mountain Golf Club (par 72, 7,115 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Washington Regional (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 8th Place of 14 Teams (292-288/580) after Day 2
Top U-M Individual: Kyle Mueller, t-2nd (72-66/138, -6)
Final Round: Saturday, May 16 -- at NCAA Washington Regional - Day 3 (Bremerton, Wash.), 7:30 a.m. PDT

BREMERTON, Wash. -- Paced with a career-best six-under 66 from freshman Kyle Mueller, the University of Michigan men's golf team posted an even-par 288 team total today (Friday, May 15) to remain in the eighth position at the NCAA Washington Regional at the Gold Mountain Golf Club.

After finishing tied for eighth after day one Thursday (May 24), the Wolverines started off the back nine with Iowa State and Sam Houston State. After going six over on the backside in yesterday's opening round, today the Maize and Blue posted 12 birdies -- including five from Mueller -- to make the turn at five under par. Unfortunately, U-M could not maintain its momentum on the front, playing it eight over to close the second round with an even-par 288. With a 580 36-hole total, Michigan is seven shots back of earning a top-five finish and advancing to the NCAA Finals.

TCU moved into the top spot after a five-under 283 in the second round, resulting in a 12-under 564 total, while first-day leader UAB dropped to second at 565 (280-285). Rounding out the top five is USC third (281-288/569), South Carolina fourth (288-283/571) and Baylor fifth (293-280/573).

The day belonged to Mueller, who used eight birdies to fire a career-best six-under 66 and vault into medalist contention. He fired five birdies on the back side to begin the day and made the turn at five under. He added two more birdies on the opening front side holes to take the regional lead at seven under before posting his first blemish with a bogey on No. 3. A second bogey on No. 7 was erased with a birdie on No. 8 as he closed the day six under. After opening with an even-par 72 in yesterday's first round, he sits tied for second individually with a six-under 138 -- just two shots back of leader Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan, who leads at eight-under 136 (67-69).

Sophomores Reed Hrynewich and Bryce Evon each posted one-over 73s on the day. After an opening even-par 72, Hrynewich followed with his 73 Friday to sit tied for 26th at 145. Today he posted three more birdies but had four bogeys and closed one over. Evon improved today with his 73, after an opening 75 Thursday, and is tied for 36th at 148. He had 13 pars, two birdies and three bogeys in carding the one-over tally.

After shooting yesterday's 73 without a driver, junior Chris O'Neill followed with a 76 and is tied for 44th at 149. Two double bogeys marred the round as his three birdies erased three bogeys. Sophomore Tom Swanson rounded out U-M's regional five with a second-round 77 to put him in a tie for 61st at 152.

With 18 holes remaining, the Wolverines start off the 10th tee and play with host Washington and UC Davis beginning at 7:30 a.m. PDT. From each of the six NCAA regional sites, the top five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held Friday through Wednesday, May 29-June 3, at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.

Team Standings (After Day 2)

 1. TCU                 281-283 = 564 (-12) 2. UAB                 280-285 = 565 3. USC                 281-288 = 569 4. South Carolina      288-283 = 571 5. Baylor              293-280 = 573 6. Iowa State          287-287 = 574 7. Washington          287-290 = 577 8. MICHIGAN            292-288 = 580 9. UC Davis            289-295 = 58410. Pepperdine          292-295 = 58711. VCU                 304-288 = 59212. Sam Houston State   300-295 = 59513. Cleveland State     305-291 = 59614. South Dakota        298-304 = 602

Top Individuals

 1. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington   67-69 = 136 (-8) 2. KYLE MUELLER, U-M             72-66 = 138    Rico Hoey, USC                69-69 = 138    Giulio Castagnara, TCU        70-68 = 138    Sean Crocker, USC             66-72 = 138    Paul Dunne, UAB               67-71 = 138 7. Sean Kelly, South Carolina    71-68 = 139    Andreas Gjesteby, Baylor      70-69 = 139

Other Michigan Individuals

T26. Reed Hrynewich   72-73 = 145T36. Bryce Evon       75-73 = 148T44. Chris O'Neill    73-76 = 149T61. Tom Swanson      75-77 = 152

N O T E S

• With his eight birdies in the second round, Kyle Mueller has posted 11 total birdies, which rank second among all 75 players in the field. Overall, he is playing the par 3s at one under, the par 4s at four under and the part 5s at one under.

• Mueller's six-under 66 is a career-best round for the freshman. It topped the 67 (-4) he fired in his first collegiate round and tournament -- the Wolverines Intercollegiate (Sept. 6-7), an event he went on to win.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On the second day of the NCAA Regional ... "We were happy to play a better round than we did yesterday and put ourselves in position for tomorrow. The guys had another very good warm-up this morning and I liked that they were pretty loose. We played about two holes of the round before the official's suspended play for fog. We had started well, so I was a little concerned about our momentum, but the guys pick right up where we left off. Kyle (Mueller) obviously had a great round today. Nick (Pumford) walked with him the entire round and his putting was incredible. On the other hand I felt the other four players all played better than the scores they shot. If we can get a few more putts to drop tomorrow we are going to be in good shape."

U-M Freshman Kyle Mueller
On his career round of 66 in the second round ... "It wasn't my best ball striking day out there today, but I putted really well. That gave me a lot of momentum and confidence. It was one of those days where you feel like you are going to make everything you look at. It was definitely a lot of fun."

• Day 1 Results

Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423