Michigan
Big Ten Championships
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Big Ten Championships
4/25/2018 1:29:00 PM | Men's Golf
THIS WEEK
• Fri-Sun., April 27-29 -- Big Ten Championships (Baltimore, Md.)
Live Scoring | Big Ten Men's Golf | Big Ten Championships | Baltimore Country Club
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• Honors & Awards: 2017-18 | Scholar Story: Kyle Mueller
Next on the Tee: Big Ten Championships
The University of Michigan men's golf team will shift its focus toward the Wolverines' second season as they travel to Baltimore, Maryland, Friday through Sunday (April 27-29) for the 54-hole Big Ten Championships. For the seventh straight year the conference tournament will be held at a neutral site, and again will be held at Baltimore Country Club. The conference tournament will be played in a 5-count-4 format with Baltimore C.C. set up for a par of 70 at 7,181 yards.
The Big Ten Championships Field
All 14 conference schools will participate in the 2018 Big Ten Championships. The seeding (1-14) with GolfStat relative rankings (as of April 25) include: No. 13 Illinois, No. 35 Northwestern, No. 36 Purdue, No. 39 Penn State, No. 59 Michigan State, No. 73 Ohio State, No. 74 Iowa, No. 77 Minnesota, No. 84 Michigan, No. 89 Indiana, No. 90 Wisconsin, No. 92 Maryland, No. 143 Rutgers and No. 183 Nebraska.
The Big Ten Championships Schedule
Wednesday, April 25 -- Travel Day
Thursday, April 26 -- Practice Round (18), 8 a.m.
Thursday, April 26 -- Coaches Meeting, 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 26 -- B1G Championships Banquet 6:30 p.m.
Friday, April 27 -- First Round (18), tee times off No. 1 and No. 10, 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 28 -- Second Round (18), tee times off No. 1 and No. 10, 9 a.m.
Sunday, April 29 -- Final Round (18), tee times off No. 1 and No. 10, 8 a.m.
The Big Ten Championships
First Round
Tee #1 (9:00 a.m.) -- #1 Illinois, #2 Northwestern, #3, Purdue
Tee #1 (9:45 a.m.) -- #4 Penn State, #5 Michigan State, #6 Ohio State
Tee #10 (9:00 a.m.) -- #7 Iowa, #8 Minnesota
Tee #10 (9:40 a.m.) -- #9 Michigan, #10 Indiana, #11 Wisconsin
Tee #10 (10:25 a.m.) -- #12 Maryland, #13 Rutgers, #14 Nebraska
Second Round
Tee #1 (9:00 a.m.) -- #4 Team, #5 Team, #6 Team
Tee #1 (9:45 a.m.) -- #1 Team, #2 Team, #3 Team
Tee #10 (9:00 a.m.) -- #7 Team, #8 Team
Tee #10 (9:40 a.m.) -- #9 Team, #10 Team, #11 Team
Tee #10 (10:25 a.m.) -- #12 Team, #13 Team, #14 Team
Final Round
Tee #1 (8:00 a.m.) -- #4 Team, #5 Team, #6 Team
Tee #1 (8:45 a.m.) -- #1 Team, #2 Team, #3 Team
Tee #10 (8:00 a.m.) -- #7 Team, #8 Team
Tee #10 (8:40 a.m.) -- #9 Team, #10 Team, #11 Team
Tee #10 (9:25 a.m.) -- #12 Team, #13 Team, #14 Team
The Big Ten Championships Lineup
Michigan will have five players travel to the conference championships, including senior Kyle Mueller, junior Nick Carlson, sophomore Brent Ito and freshmen Charlie Pilon and Henry Spring.
Big Ten Championships Experience
• Kyle Mueller -- fourth: 2015 (t-42nd, 305), 2016 (3rd, 209, -7), 2017 (t-44th, 223)
• Nick Carlson -- third: 2016 (35th, 224), 2017 (t-16th, 214)
• Brent Ito -- first
• Charlie Pilon -- first
• Henry Spring -- first
Last Year at the Big Ten Championships
• Michigan posted an 878 (296-288-294) total and finished ninth at the 2017 Big Ten Championships held at the Baltimore Country Club. Nick Carlson led the Wolverines with a 214 to tie for 16th, giving the Wolverines a top-20 individual finish in 31 straight conference championships. After an opening-round 76, former Wolverine Bryce Evon used rounds of 71 and 72 to close with a 219 and tie for 33rd. [ Recap ]
Michigan at the Big Ten Championships
Michigan has won 12 Big Ten championships throughout the history of the program, with the last coming in the 1952 season. Individually, U-M has had 15 players win medalist honors at the conference event, with the last in 1999 by Michael Harris.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Saying Kyle Mueller's final season has continued to be special would be an understatement. After leading U-M in eight of the 10 events with eight sub-par performances, he is averaging 69.80 per round average. Twenty of his 25 rounds have been under-par with nine sub-70 rounds -- including a U-M record 63 (-7) carded in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. Mueller has recorded 61 sub-par scores in 124 rounds.
• With his sub-70 per-round average, Kyle Mueller is on pace to break his own single season scoring record -- 71.36 set last season. This season he has 20 sub-par rounds. Breaking down the odd five rounds there are two even par and three just over par with two 73s and with his highest round this season at 74. Mueller is the only Wolverine in history to finish a season with a below 72 scoring average.
• Kyle Mueller stayed among the top 10 in the latest (April 23) individual rankings by GolfWeek for collegiate golfers. He is ranked eighth in the country with a 73.19 rating. Mueller is the top-rated Big Ten player and one of just two in the top 50 -- Illinois' Nick Hardy (No. 25) [ Rankings ]
• Earlier in the spring, Kyle Mueller was named the award recipient for the David Toms Overcoming Adversity Award. He was a finalist for two of college golf's top awards -- the 2018 Byron Nelson Award presented by Srixon Golf & Cleveland Golf as well as the 2018 Haskins Award. [ David Toms Award ]
• With his expected start in the Big Ten Championships, Kyle Mueller will have started 49 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. After missing his first career event due to a shoulder injury Nick Carlson snapped his 32 consecutive events streak. He returned in U-M's regular-season finale and is expected to play in the Big Ten Championships.
• Kyle Mueller, who has nine straight top-12 finishes, won back-to-back events after tying for the victory at the Desert Mountain with a 212 (-4) tally, while he rallied in the final round of the Southwestern Jones Invitational with a 208 (-8) total. The pair of trophies were the fourth and fifth wins in his career, as he is one away from tying Michael Harris' U-M record of six.
• Kyle Mueller and Charlie Pilon shared medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. It was the fifth career win, and second straight, for Mueller, while Pilon claimed the first of his career. The Wolverine duo tallied 212 (-4) as Mueller bookended rounds of 71 (1) around a 70 (-2), while Pilon opened with a career-best 69 (-3) followed with rounds of 73 and 70 (-2). With the pair of top finishing players, U-M tied for second overall at its spring event.
• Adding to his list of records at Michigan, Kyle 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 carded 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)
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
• Despite battling a right shoulder injury most of the season, Nick Carlson continues to be a solid force for the Wolverines. He is averaging 73.05 strokes per round -- second on the team -- and has started nine events. He posted a career-best 36 hole tournament total (138) at the Inverness Intercollegiate and added a new career low for a 54 hole event with a 207 (-6) at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, where he posted a season-best tie for third individual finish.
• The "Down Under Duo" of Charlie Pilon (Australia) and Henry Spring (New Zealand) has continued to gain experience in their its first year with the Wolverines. Pilon has started eight of nine events and is third on the Wolverines with a 74.36 per-round average. He won his first collegiate event tying with teammate Kyle Mueller at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. Spring has started six of his eight events and sports a 76.05 average. He has two top 35 finishes with a season by tie for 30th at the Northern Intercollegiate.
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.
MICHIGAN AT THE NCAA POSTSEASON
Last year's NCAA regional selection marked U-M's 40th NCAA postseason appearance and the program's 12th regional 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), the Southwest Regional (2009) and the Franklin Regional (2016). The Wolverines add two regional invitations in 2012 (Matt Thompson) and 2014 (Chris O'Neill). U-M has made 22 NCAA team final appearances, winning back-to-back national titles in 1934 and 1935. The Wolverines have also had 10 individuals advance to the NCAA Finals, with the last by Kyle Mueller in 2015.
Michigan NCAA Regional History
• 1995: Central -- 12th (890)
• 1997: Central -- Eighth (874)
• 2000: Central -- T-11th (866)
• 2008: Central -- T-12th (904)
• 2009: Southwest -- Fifth (888) - advanced to NCAA Finals
        • 2009: NCAA Finals -- advanced to NCAA Match Play
        • 2009: NCAA Championship -- Match Play Semifinalist
• 2010: Central -- T-Sixth (848)
• 2011: Central -- First (841) - advanced to NCAA Finals
        • 2011: NCAA Finals -- T-10th (892)
• 2012: Central: No Team Score -- Matt Thompson played as individual
• 2014: Central: NTS - Chris O'Neill played as individual
• 2015: Washington -- Seventh (863) - Kyle Mueller advanced to NCAA Finals
        • 2015: NCAA Finals - NTS - Mueller played as individual, tying for 94th
• 2016: Franklin -- 10th (872)
• 2017: Washington -- 10th (886)
UP NEXT
• Mon-Wed., May 14-16 -- NCAA Regional (NCAA selected)
Players Mentioned
