Michigan
Fighting Irish Classic
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Fighting Irish Classic
10/5/2018 2:14:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Michigan heads to South Bend, Indiana, for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic, Sunday and Monday (Oct. 7-8) at Warren Golf Course.
» Notre Dame's event is the third of four fall events for U-M.
» Nick Carlson has shot four of his six rounds this season under par and leads U-M with a 72.17 per round average.
» U-M head coach Chris Whitten is an alumnus of Notre Dame (2002) and helped the Fighting Irish to a pair of Big East runner-up finishes (1999 and 2002). He started his coaching career as the first-ever assistant for the program (2003-05).
This Week
Sun-Mon., Oct. 7-8 -- Fighting Irish Classic (South Bend, Ind.)
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Next on the Tee: Fighting Irish Classic
The fall season does not slow down as the University of Michigan men's golf team is back at it with the Maize and Blue's third tournament in the first five weeks of the semester. The Wolverines are off to South Bend, Indiana, Sunday and Monday (Oct. 7-8) for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic. The two-day, 54-hole event will be held on the Warren Golf Course. The 15-team field will open with 36 holes on Sunday and a final 18 on Monday. The golf course will be set up as a par 71 at 7,020 yards.
The Fighting Irish Classic Field
There will be 15 teams in the field at the Fighting Irish Classic, including Georgia Southern, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Toledo and Wisconsin.
The Fighting Irish Classic Lineup
Michigan will bring a five-member starting squad for the Fighting Irish Classic. Starting for the Wolverines will be senior Nick Carlson, junior Brent Ito, sophomores Charlie Pilon and Henry Spring, and freshman Patrick Sullivan.
The Fighting Irish Classic Schedule
Friday, Oct. 5 -- Travel Day
Saturday, Oct. 6 -- Practice Round (18), 12:30 p.m. (shotgun starting on No. 16)
Sunday, Oct. 7 -- First Round (18), 8:45 a.m. (shotgun starting on Nos. 7-10)
Sunday, Oct. 8 -- Second Round (18), continuous play following completion of first round
Monday, Oct. 9 -- Final Round (18), 8:30 a.m. (tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
The Fighting Irish Classic First Day
Michigan will be paired with Georgia Southern and Nebraska for the first 36 holes. The Wolverines will start off holes Nos. 7-10 in the shotgun format.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan is playing the third of a four-tournament fall slate this weekend. After opening the season with a tie for seventh at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 15-16), U-M rallied for a fifth-place finish at Northwestern's Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 23-24) -- its eighth top-five finish in 11 tries at that tournament. Following this weekend's event at Notre Dame, the Maize and Blue will close the fall at Baylor's Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 22-23).
• Senior Nick Carlson is leading the Wolverines with a 72.17 scoring average early on this fall. He has posted four of his six rounds below par, including the team's fall low of 68 (-4) in the final round of the Windon Memorial. Sophomore Henry Spring is just behind at 72.67 as he has had three of his six rounds below par. After sophomore Charlie Pilon opened the season with an 80, he has not recorded a round over 73 in the next five and is averaging 73.17 per round.
• Nick Carlson is expected to start his 37th career event at the Fighting Irish Classic. The rest of the Wolverines' starting five has 32 combined starts -- Charlie Pilon (11), Brent Ito (10), Henry Spring (9) and Patrick Sullivan (2).
• Henry Spring began his sophomore season with a career-best third-place individual finish at the Northern Intercollegiate. His 215 (-1) tally was just a shot off his career low of 214 posted in the season-ending Big Ten Championships. He followed with a 221 tally at the Windon Memorial Classic (t-39th).
• Charlie Pilon may have opened with an 80 in his first round of the season, but as he said he had to get the "wiggles" out and remember what tournament play was like. He followed with tallies of 71 (-1) and 69 (-3) to post a top-20 finish at the Northern Intercollegiate, tying for 16th at 220. He added three straight rounds of 73 at the Windon Memorial Classic to tie for 24th.
Inside the Maize and Blue
• Michigan made its fifth straight NCAA regional appearance in 2017-18, as Kyle Mueller won the Columbus Regional and made his second career NCAA Finals appearance. During the five-year stretch, U-M has three team appearances (2017 Washington, 2016 Vanderbilt and 2015 Washington) and two individual appearances (2018 Mueller and 2014 Chris O'Neill).
• U-M has 41 NCAA postseason appearances with 13 regional stops since the format changed to regional play in 1989. The Wolverines have participated as a team in six Central Regionals (1995, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2011), two Washington Regionals (2015, 2017), a Southwest Regional (2009) and a Franklin Regional (2016). The Wolverines add three regional invitations in 2012 (Matt Thompson), 2014 (Chris O'Neill) and 2018 (Kyle Mueller). U-M has made 23 NCAA team final appearances, winning back-to-back national titles in 1934 and 1935. The Wolverines also have had 11 individuals advance to the NCAA Finals, with the last by Mueller in 2018.
Up Next
• Mon-Tue., Oct. 22-23 -- Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Dallas, Texas)
• Fri-Sat., Feb. 8-9 -- Big Ten Match Play Championship (Palm Coast, Fla.)
Players Mentioned
