Michigan
Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
Michigan Takes Second Place in Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
3/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
» Michigan tallied a 13-under 851 total to finish as the runner-up at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
» Tom Swanson tallied a career-best 54-hole total with a 212 (-4), topping his prior best by six shots. He tied a career best with a final-round 70 (-2).
» Michigan's runner-up finish at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate is the fourth top-five finish this season and second runner-up title.
» Reed Hrynewich posted his first top-10 finish of the season with a career-best-tying 214 (-2) total.
Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: Outlaw Course at Desert Mountain Club (par 72, 7,107 yards)
Tournament: Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Finish: 2nd Place of 12 Teams (278-284-289/851, -13)
Top U-M Individual: Tom Swanson, 7th (71-71-70/212, -4)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., April 2-3 -- The Aggie Invitational (Bryan, Texas)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team placed runner-up in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate for the second straight year, shooting a one-over-par 289 team score in the final round Sunday (March 6) to finish four shots behind Texas A&M at the Desert Mountain Club's Outback Course.
The host Wolverines entered the final round with a two-shot edge over the Aggies, but Texas A&M made an early move, going six under par compared to Michigan's one over on the first six holes. Michigan (278-284-289/851), which was 13 under par for 54 holes, made some pushes on the back nine but could not catch the Aggies, who finished five under for the round and minus-17 total (277-287-283/847).
"Texas A&M really started out the round hot today and forced us to play catch-up throughout the round," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "I don't feel like we made any terrible mistakes, but we never had full momentum either. When we got to the back nine we did pick it up when we needed to and that made the finish exciting, but we needed to find our games earlier in the round."
Four Wolverines starters were under par for the event and placed in the top 10. Junior Tom Swanson, the only golfer in the 69-player field to shoot three under-par rounds on the par-72, 7,071-yard layout, finished with a four-under total of 212 (71-71-70), good for seventh place. He was two over after five holes but birdied 8, 9, 13 and 14 to tie his career-best 18-hole score.
"This event is one of our favorites," said Swanson. "We have had a great week of work put in and we really had a chance to play some great courses. To see it pay off and see this team bounce back after a very poor tournament in Puerto Rico was just great. For me I wanted to focus on keeping the ball in position to make pars. It is very easy to make bogeys and doubles at this course with the desert all around you."
Senior Chris O'Neill, who shot 66 in the opening round, tied for eighth at 213 (66-72-75), while junior Reed Hrynewich (70-71-73) and sophomore Kyle Mueller (71-72-71) tied for 10th a shot back at 214.
Playing as an individual, senior Andrew Yeager had Michigan's best round of the day, posting five birdies in his last 11 holes to shoot 68. He finished with a one-under total of 215 (69-78-68) and tied for 16th.
Texas A&M also had the individual champion in Ben Crancer, who maintained his 36-hole lead with an even-par 72 and eight-under total of 208 (69-67-72). Runner-up Brian Carlson (72-72-65/209) of Purdue finished one shot back after a final-round 65 that was matched Sunday by Marquette's Nick Nelson and Tennessee's Chad Merzbacher for the low round of the event.
"It was good to be back in contention for the win in this tournament," Whitten added, "and that experience is going to help us so much in the next few months as the tournaments become more and more important. I was also happy to see so many of our guys play well in the same event.
"Desert Mountain is a special place, and I think all of the players this week felt lucky to be here. It's a fantastic opportunity for our program to host this event."
With the spring break trip completed, the Wolverines will have nearly a month break before getting back to competition. U-M will next play April 2-3 at Texas A&M's Aggie Invitational in Bryan, Texas. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the Traditions Club.
Final Team Standings
1. Texas A&M 277-287-283 = 847 (-17)
2. MICHIGAN 278-284-289 = 851
3. Tennessee 282-292-282 = 856
4. Purdue 288-289-280 = 857
5. Pepperdine 286-283-294 = 863
6. San Francisco 294-301-276 = 871
7. Santa Clara 295-299-286 = 880
8. St. Mary's 285-304-292 = 881
9. Marquette 295-297-294 = 886
Nebraska 290-300-296 = 886
11. Pacific 294-299-299 = 892
12. South Dakota State 294-314-304 = 912
Top Individuals
1. Ben Crancer, Texas A&M 69-67-72 = 208 (-8)
2. Brian Carlson, Purdue 72-72-65 = 209
3. Chandler Phillips, Texas A&M 71-73-66 = 210
Nick Nelson, Marquette 73-72-65 = 210
5. Chad Merzbacher, Tennessee 73-73-65 = 211
Henry Chung, San Francisco 68-74-69 = 211
7. Tom Swanson, U-M 71-71-70 = 212
8. Chris O'Neill, U-M 66-72-75 = 213
Jonathan De Los Reyes, St. Mary's 70-73-70 = 213
Other Michigan Individuals
T10. Kyle Mueller 71-72-71 = 214 T10. Reed Hrynewich 70-71-73 = 214 T29. Nick Carlson 73-70-77 = 220 T16. Andrew Yeager 69-78-68 = 215* T29. Brett McIntosh 72-73-75 = 220* T39. Bryce Evon 74-74-75 = 223*
* playing as individual
Players Mentioned
