Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Pilon's Career-Best 67 Puts Him Atop Big Ten Championship Leaderboard
4/27/2018 8:45:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Michigan opened its Big Ten Championships with a 291, positioning the Wolverines eighth after the first day -- just four shots back of the top five.
» Freshman Charlie Pilon used four birdies over his final six holes to card a career-best 67 (-3) and tie himself for the lead with two others -- Wisconsin's Sam Anderson and Ohio State's Jeg Coughlin III.
» Fellow freshman Henry Spring used two early birdies to set the pace for his round as he closed with a 72 (+2) and is tied for 19th individually.
» U-M will be paired with Wisconsin for a second straight day as the Wolverines and Badgers will start the second round off the 10th tee at 9 a.m.
Site: Baltimore, Md.
Tournament: Big Ten Championships (Day 1 of 3)
Course: Baltimore Country Club (par 70, 7,181 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 8th Place of 14 Teams (291) after Day 1
Top U-M Individual: Charlie Pilon, tie-1st (67, -3)
Next U-M Round: Saturday, April 28 -- at Big Ten Championships, 9 a.m. (10th tee)
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BALTIMORE, Md. -- With five total birdies, including four over his final six holes, University of Michigan men's golf freshman Charlie Pilon shot a career-best 67 (-3) and is tied for the individual lead at the 2018 Big Ten Championships, while the Wolverines' 291 team total today (Friday, April 27) positioned the Maize and Blue eighth after the first day at the Baltimore Country Club.
"Today felt very close to a good round," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "Charlie (Pilon) was very consistent hitting fairways and greens, making the round stress-free. Henry (Spring) really did the same and is in good shape with this game. The weather is supposed to be very good tomorrow and I anticipate the scores being lower. We will be ready for a great round tomorrow."
Starting the conference championship off the back side, Pilon got off to a solid start playing his first seven holes one-under after his first of five birdies was recorded on the 14th. After a bogey on the 17th, he made the turn to the front at even-par before reaching one over with a second bogey on the third.
Then things changed. Hitting his stride and missing just two greens the entire round, Pilon capitalized on his approaches with birdies on Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 9 to post a career-best 67 (-3) to put him atop the leaderboard along with Wisconsin's Sam Anderson and Ohio State's Jeg Coughlin III.
Pilon, who is playing in his first career conference tournament, recorded his fifth sub-par round of the season and just his second sub-70.
"I played really solid all day with only missing two greens the entire day," said Pilon. "I capitalized on the holes which presented themselves, coming in by hitting shots relatively close and rolling the putts in."
Fellow freshman Henry Spring followed his classmates lead posting a 72 (+2) to position himself among the top 20 as he is tied for 19th. Spring began his first round birdieing Nos. 1 and 3 before making the turn at even-par. Two more bogeys on the front side added to seven pars helped him post the second lowest U-M round of the day. Rounding out the Wolverines top three was senior Kyle Mueller, who is tied for 42nd after his opening 75.
The Maize and Blue will be paired with Wisconsin for a second straight round as the Wolverines and Badgers start off the 10th tee at 9 a.m.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
 1. Ohio State      279 (-1)  2. Illinois        281  3. Penn State      284  4. Northwestern    285  5. Maryland        287  6. Iowa            288    Wisconsin       288  8. MICHIGAN        291  9. Purdue          293 10. Michigan State  294 11. Rutgers         296 12. Nebraska        299    Minnesota       299 14. Indiana         308Top Individuals
 1. CHARLIE PILON, U-M              67 (-3)    Sam Anderson, Wisconsin         67    Jeg Coughlin III, Ohio State    67  4. Cole Miller, Penn State         68    Christopher, Gotterup, Rutgers  68  6. Dylan Meyer, Illinois           69    Sam Triplett, Northwestern      69    Bryan Baumgarten, Illinois      69    Nick Hardy, Illinois            69    Dylan Wu, Northwestern          69    David Kocher, Maryland          69Other Michigan Individuals
T19. Henry Spring  72 T42. Kyle Mueller  75 T56. Brent Ito     77  67. Nick Carlson  79
Players Mentioned
