Michigan
Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
3/1/2018 7:10:00 AM | Men's Golf
This Week
• Sat-Sun., March 3-4 -- Host, Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Live Scoring
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• Honors & Awards: 2017-18 | Scholar Story: Kyle Mueller
Next on the Tee: Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
The University of Michigan men's golf team will host the 2018 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Saturday and Sunday (March 3-4) at Desert Mountain's Outlaw Course. The fourth annual event will feature 12 teams in the field, playing 54 holes over the two-day tournament. Day one will consist of 36 holes of stroke play, followed by a final 18 on day two. The Outlaw Course will be set up for a par 72 and 7,107 yards. Scoring will be five players, count the low four scores. Selected teams will be allowed an invited individual.
The Tournament Field
There will be 12 teams competing at the 2018 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, including -- Fresno State, Kansas, Lipscomb, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon State, Purdue, Saint Mary's, San Diego, Utah and Washington State. Additionally, there will be nine total invited individuals competing -- Kansas (1), Lipscomb (1), Miami (1), Michigan (3), Nebraska (1), Purdue (1), Saint Mary's (1).
The Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 2 -- Practice Round (18) tee times off No. 1 starting at 9 a.m. MST (Michigan, 9:30 a.m.)
Saturday, March 3 -- First Round (18) begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. MST
Saturday, March 3 -- Second Round (18) continuous play following completion of first round
Sunday, March 4 -- Final Round (18) begins with tee times off No. 1 & 11 at 8:30 a.m. MST
The Michigan Lineup
With spring break training trip culminating with the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, the starting five and three Wolverine individuals will be determined throughout the week's practice and play. Heading to Arizona will be seniors Kyle Mueller and Ian Kim, junior Nick Carlson, sophomores Brent Ito and Taisei Negishi and freshmen Charlie Pilon, Connor Prassas and Henry Spring.
History at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
• Michigan is hosting its spring break event for the fourth straight season at Desert Mountain's Outlaw Course. The Wolverines won the 2017 title and have finished as the runner-up in both the 2015 and 2016 events.
• Playing with only four in the final round in 2017 as Kyle Mueller withdrew due to illness, Michigan was able to hold off the Northwestern to win the first team title in its spring-hosted event. [ Recap ]
• In 2016, four Wolverines finished under par for 54-holes and closed among the top 10 individually, helping U-M to its second straight runner-up finish with an 851 (-13) team total. [ Recap ]
• With top 10 finishes from Chris O'Neill (2nd, 210, -6) and Kyle Mueller (t-7th, 216, E), U-M tied for the runner-up spot in the inaugural event with an 873 team total. [ Recap ]
• In nine team rounds, U-M has recorded six under par with a U-M tournament low 277 (-11) at in the 2017 first round. The next lowest was a 278 (-10) in the 2016 first round.
Current Wolverines History at the Desert Mountain
• Kyle Mueller: 2015 (t-7th; 75-70-71 = 216, E), 2016 (t-10th; 71-72-71 = 214, -2) and 2017 (71-70-WD)
• Nick Carlson: 2016 (t-29th; 73-70-77 = 220), 2017 (t-12th; 73-71-70/214)
• Ian Kim: 2017 (t-25th; 74-72-72/218)
• Taisei Negishi: 2017 (t-61st; 83-82-72/237*)
* played as individual
WOLVERINE BITES
• Kyle Mueller won his fourth career event after rallying in the final round of the Southwestern Jones Invitational. Using a 66 (-6) he held on for a one-shot win with a 208 (-8) tally. He also has medalist honors at 2014 Wolverine Intercollegiate, 2016 Windon Memorial Classic and 2017 Aggie Invitational.
• After his victory at the Southwestern Jones Invitational, Kyle Mueller was named the Big Ten's Golfer of the Week for the first time this season and for the fifth time in his career.
• As a team, the Wolverines are averaging 289.86 per team round with four sub-par team totals, which included a season-best 278 (-6) in the first round at Royal Oaks. U-M has three top-five finishes in six events this season.
• With his expected start in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, Kyle Mueller will have started 45 straight tournaments -- not missing an event in his career. He played in 13 events as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore and 13 as a junior. In addition, Nick Carlson has yet to miss a tournament in three seasons, starting 31 consecutive events.
• Saying Mueller's final season has continued to be special would be an understatement. After leading U-M in four of the six events with five sub-par performances, he is averaging 69.21 per round average. In fact, 11 of his 14 rounds have been under-par with seven sub-70 rounds -- including a U-M record 63 (-7) carded in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. Mueller has recorded 52 sub-par scores in 113 rounds.
• Adding to his list of records at Michigan, Mueller became the first Wolverine to shoot 63 (-7) snapping the record of 64 held by four Wolverines, including Mueller himself. All five of U-M's top rounds of all time were recorded in the fall as well as in the second round of each event. In Mueller's record round, he recorded eight birdies, one bogey and nine pars which saw a final-round 10-foot birdie putt for the record.
U-M's Top 5 Single Rounds
63 (-7), Kyle Mueller at 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-10)
64 (-7), Kyle Mueller at 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 12-13)
64 (-8), Bill Rankin at 2008 Bridgestone Intercollegiate (Oct. 27-28)
64 (-7), Christian Vozza at 2005 Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11)
64 (-7), Michael Harris at 1998 Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19)
• The list of Mueller's honors at Michigan continues to grow. With his latest record of U-M's top single-round tally of 63 (-7) he now holds eight outright records in the annals of Michigan golf history.
Mueller's List of Michigan Records
• U-M single-season scoring: 71.36 (2016-17); only Wolverine in history to post sub-72 average
• U-M season scoring (by class): freshman (72.56), sophomore (71.72) and junior (71.36)
• U-M single-round: 63 (-7) in the second round at the 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-10)
• U-M 36-hole tournament: 135 (68-67, -7) at the 2017 Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19)
• U-M 54-hole tournament: 198 (69-64-65, -15) at 2015 The MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13); first Wolverine to post sub-200 tournament total
• U-M 54-hole Big Ten Tournament: 209 (-7) at the 2016 conference championships
• Like a repeating scene, Mueller and Carlson have finished as the top two Wolverines in four of the six events this season. In the three seasons together, the Maize and Blue duo has finished as the top two in 12 of 30 events. So far this season, Mueller has led U-M in four events, with Carlson adding one.
• Kyle Mueller has five straight top-12 finishes after he won (208, -8) at the Southwestern Jones Invitational, tied for third (135, -7) at the Inverness Intercollegiate, tied for eighth (212, -4) at the Northern Intercollegiate, finished fifth (203, -7) at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and tied for 12th (211, -2) at the Royal Oaks.
• Behind Kyle Mueller (69.21) and Nick Carlson (72.21), the Wolverines are jam packed with five Wolverines all averaging within a half-stroke of each other. Connor Prassas leads the pack with a 74.18 average, while Charlie Pilon (75.36), Brent Ito (75.58) and Henry Spring (75.91).
INSIDE THE MAIZE AND BLUE
• Michigan made its third straight NCAA regional appearance as a team in 2016-17, finishing 10th at the Washington Regional. Kyle Mueller led the Wolverines, tied for eighth individually and missed advancing to his second NCAA Finals by a single shot.
• Mueller earned his third straight All-Big Ten selection and second first-team accolade in 2016-17. He became the second Wolverine in program history to earn three All-Big Ten honors, joining Michael Harris, who was a three-time first-teamer (1998-2000). Mueller has second-team honors as a freshman (2015) and back-to-back years of first-team selections (2016, 2017).
• In addition to his Big Ten honor, Mueller garnered PING All-America honorable mention from the Golf Coaches Association of America, becoming the 10th Wolverine to earn an All-America accolade and the first in six years (2011).
• Mueller and Carlson competed at the 2017 U.S. Amateur in California. Mueller made his third straight appearance and advanced to match play for the second time, reaching the round of 32. Carlson made his second straight trip after his remarkable run to the Final Four in 2016.
UP NEXT
• Sun-Tue., March 18-20 -- Linger Longer Invitational (Eatonton, Ga.)
• Sat-Sun., April 7-8 -- The Aggie Invitational (Bryan, Texas)
Players Mentioned
