Michigan
NCAA Columbus Regional
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: NCAA Columbus Regional
5/9/2018 4:59:00 PM | Men's Golf
THIS WEEK
• Mon-Wed., May 14-16 -- NCAA Columbus Regional (Columbus, Ohio)
Live Scoring | NCAA Championships | Columbus Regional Central | OSU's Golf Club
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Honors & Awards: 2017-18 | Scholar Story: Kyle Mueller
Next on the Tee: NCAA Columbus Regional
With the Big Ten Championships finished, the University of Michigan men's golf team and Kyle Mueller shift their focus towards the NCAA postseason after the senior earned an individual invitation to the NCAA Columbus Regional, Monday through Wednesday, May 14-16. Mueller was one of 10 individuals invited along with 13 teams for the 54-hole event to be held at the OSU Golf Club's Scarlet Course. The regional tournament will be set up for a par of 71 at 7,364 yards.
The NCAA Columbus Regional Field
In one of six regional sites, the NCAA Columbus Regional will feature 13 teams and 10 individuals vying to advance to the NCAA Championships. From each regional, the top five teams and top low individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Finals, to be held Friday through Wednesday, May 25-30, at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Columbus Regional Teams
1. Oklahoma State
2. Illinois
3. Texas Tech
4. UNLV
5. Wake Forest
6. Northwestern
7. Penn State
8. Tennessee
9. Louisville
10. Jacksonville
11. Michigan State
12. Yale
13. Cleveland State
Columbus Regional Individuals
1. Kyle Mueller, Michigan
2. Matthew Naumec, Boston College
3. Alex Schaake, Iowa
4. Patrick Flavin, Miami (Ohio)
5. David Kocher, Maryland
6. Daniel Wetterich, Ohio State
7. Peter Knade, Maryland
8. Jacob Poore, Northern Kentucky
9. Zach Schroeder, IPFW
10. Nick Wilkins, Morehead State
The NCAA Columbus Regional Schedule
Saturday, May 12 -- Travel Day
Sunday, May 13 -- Practice Round (18), 9 a.m. (shotgun)
Monday, May 14 -- First Round (18), 10:04 a.m. (No. 1 tee)
Tuesday, May 15 -- Second Round (18), 9:20 a.m. (No. 1 tee)
Wednesday, May 16 -- Final Round (18), 9:20 a.m. (No. 1 tee)
NCAA Regional Experience
• Kyle Mueller -- fourth: 2015# (T-2nd, 207, -9), 2016 (T-56th, 220), 2017 (T-8th, 212, -1)
# advanced to NCAA Finals as individual (T-94th, 229)
The NCAA Finals Format
The 2018 finals format will consist of three days (54 holes) of stroke play for all competitors, Friday through Sunday (May 25-27). Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play Monday (May 28) to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion. After Monday, the top eight teams advance to match play for the team championship.
Michigan in the NCAA Postseason
This year's NCAA regional selection marked U-M's 41st NCAA postseason appearance and the program's 13th 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 three regional invitations in 2012 (Matt Thompson), 2014 (Chris O'Neill) and 2018 (Kyle Mueller). 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 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)
• 2018: Columbus: NTS - Kyle Mueller playing as individual
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 11 events with nine sub-par performances, he is averaging 70.32 per round -- setting the Wolverine single-season record for the third straight season.
• So far this season, 20 of Kyle Mueller's 28 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. Breaking down further his season, he has 20 below par rounds, two even par and has not carded a round higher than 75 this season. Mueller is the only Wolverine in history to finish a season with a sub-72 scoring average -- something he has done the last three seasons. Overall, Mueller has recorded 61 sub-par scores in 127 rounds.
• With his 70.32 scoring average, Kyle Mueller became the first Wolverine to earn the Big Ten's Les Bolstad Award for lowest conference scoring average. In fact, his average ranks as the third lowest in Big Ten history trailing Indiana's Jeff Overton's record of 69.87 (2005) and Northwestern's Dylan Wu's 70.27 average in 2017.
• Kyle Mueller earned his fourth All-Big Ten selection becoming the first Wolverine to receive the conference accolade in four straight years. This season he added his third straight first-team honor becoming the second Wolverine in program history to earn three first team, joining Michael Harris, who was a three-time first teamer (1998-2000).
• Kyle Mueller stayed among the top 20 in the individual rankings by GolfWeek and Golfstat for collegiate golfers. As of May 1, he is ranked 19th in the country by Golfweek with a 69.37 rating and is 14th (70.64) among the Golfstat Division I ratings (May 2). He is the top rated Big Ten player -- Illinois' Nick Hardy (No. 22 & No. 20) [ Golfweek | Golfstat ]
• 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 NCAA Regional, 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.
• Kyle Mueller, who posted nine top-12 finishes, won back-to-back events earlier this spring 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.
• 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 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)
Mueller's List of Michigan Records
• U-M single season scoring average: 70.32 (2017-18)
        • Only Wolverine in history to post sub-72 averages - 71.72 (2015-16), 71.36 (2016-17) & 70.32 (2017-18)
        • First Wolverine to lead team in scoring in all four seasons
        • First Wolverine to earn Big Ten's Les Bolstad Award for lowest conference scoring average (2017-18)
• U-M season scoring (by class): freshman (72.56), sophomore (71.72), junior (71.36) & senior (70.32)
• U-M career scoring average: 71.65 (48 events; 127 rounds; 9,100 total)
• U-M single-round: 63 (-7), second round at 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 MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13)
        • First Wolverine to post a sub-200 tournament total
• U-M 54-hole Big Ten Tournament: 209 (69-73-67, -7) at 2016 conference event
UP NEXT
• Fri-Wed., May 25-30 -- NCAA Championships (Stillwater, Okla.)
Players Mentioned
