Michigan
Gator Invitational
This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Gator Invitational
2/12/2019 2:36:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Michigan returns to stroke play after opening the spring at the Big Ten Match Play Championship.
» U-M heads to Gainesville for Florida's Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
» After a successful start in his varsity debut going undefeated (3-0-1) at the Big Ten Match Play Championship, Ian Martin will make his first start in a stroke-play event.
» With 15 teams in the field, U-M will be the lone representative from the Big Ten.
THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., Feb. 16-17 -- at Gator Invitational (Gainesville, Fla.)
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Next on the Tee: Gator Invitational
Following a productive and solid showing at the Big Ten Match Play Championship, the University of Michigan men's golf team heads back to the sunshine state to compete in Florida's Gator Invitational, Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 16-17) in Gainesville, Florida. Back to a stroke-play format, the Wolverines will play the two-day, 54-hole event at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. The course is scheduled to be set up for a par 70 and 6,701 yards.
The Gator Invitational Field
There will be 15 teams competing at the Gator Invitational, including Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Liberty, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Florida, Princeton, Southern Illinois, South Florida, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
The Gator Invitational Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 14 -- Travel Day
Friday, Feb. 15 -- Practice Round, TBD
Saturday, Feb. 16 -- First Round (18), 8 a.m. (shotgun)
Saturday, Feb. 16 -- Second Round (18), continuous play after round one
Sunday, Feb. 17 -- Final Round (18), 8 a.m. (tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
The Michigan Lineup
Michigan will travel with a five-member starting group for the Gator Invitational. Heading down to Florida will be senior Nick Carlson, junior Brent Ito, sophomore Charlie Pilon, fifth-year senior Ian Martin and freshman Ben Dunne.
Wolverine Bites
• With the new semester, the Wolverines welcomed the addition of fifth-year senior Ian Martin to the roster. After three successful years with U-M's Club Team and after he won the NCCGA Individual national championship, Martin was invited to play his final season with the varsity squad. A Saline, Michigan, native, Martin prepped at Saline High School where he earned all-state honors as a junior (2013). He was a three-time all-conference selection and won the Big I National Tournament Long Drive Championship in 2014.
• In his collegiate and varsity debut, Martin went undefeated at the Big Ten Match Play with a 3-0-1 record. After halving his match with Purdue's Andrew Lewis, Martin went on to post victories over Iowa's Jake Rowe (8-and-6), Minnesota's Will Grevlos (3-and-2) and Penn State's James McHigh (1-up). Martin was one of two Wolverines to finish with an unblemished record as Charlie Pilon as closed the event 3-0-1.
• After a strong finish to his fall season, Pilon continued to show improvement going 3-0-1 at the spring opening Big Ten Match Play Championship. It was some redemption after going 1-3 at the conference match play event last season. As he moves back to stoke play, he stands third in scoring average (73.67).
• Nick Carlson is expected to start his 40th career event at the Gator Invitational. The rest of the Wolverines potential starters have combined for 31 total starts -- Charlie Pilon (14), Brent Ito (13), Ben Dunne (3) and Ian Martin (1).
• 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) -- the eighth top five finish in 11 tries. Using a career-low performance from Brent Ito, the Wolverines posted an eighth-place finish at the Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 7-8) before closing the fall season with a 14th place finish at Baylor's Royal Oaks Intercollegiate.
• Nick Carlson closed the fall leading the Wolverines with a 72.83 scoring average. He has posted five of his 12 rounds below par including a career-low-tying 67 (-4) in the final round of the Fighting Irish Classic -- the fourth time in his career. After Carlson, three Wolverines were separated by three total shots -- Brent Ito was second at 73.50 (882), Charlie Pilon was third 73.67 (884) and Henry Spring was fourth at 73.75 (885).
• Brent Ito recorded the second-lowest round in program history with his 64 (-7) in the final round of the Fighting Irish Classic. Ito used seven birdies and 11 pars to record his career-best round and lower it by three shots. It is the fifth time a 64 has been recorded by a Wolverine golfer and was a single shot away from the U-M record 63 (-7) from former All-American Kyle Mueller (2015-18).
U-M Record Rounds
63 (-7), second, Kyle Mueller 2017 Jerry Pate Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-10)
64 (-7), third, Brent Ito 2018 Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 7-8)
64 (-7), second, Kyle Mueller 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invite (Oct. 12-13)
64 (-8), second, Bill Rankin 2008 Bridgestone Intercollegiate (Oct. 27-28)
64 (-7), second, Christian Vozza 2005 Alister MacKenzie Invite (Oct. 10-11)
64 (-7), second, Michael Harris 1998 Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19)
• With his final round 64 (-7) at the Fighting Irish Classic, Brent Ito went on to record a career-best 207 (-6) 54-hole tournament total as well as his first career top 20 finish -- tying for 15th. In addition to Ito's career-lows at the Warren Golf Course, Nick Carlson tied his career low with a 67 (-4) in the final round, as did Charlie Pilon, who posted a career-low 65 (-6) in the final round. Pilon's tally also led to a career-low 211 (-2) 54-hole tournament total.
• Using the career-low final rounds by Brent Ito (64, -7), Charlie Pilon (65, -6) and Nick Carlson (67, -4) in the final round of the Fighting Irish Classic, Michigan set a new career low for a team single-round tally of 267 (-17). The amazing score lowered the previous best tally by three shots -- 270 (-14) totaled in the final round of the 2016 Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 19-20) -- which was paced by a Carlson 67 (-4).
Up Next
• Sat-Sun., March 9-10 -- host Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Players Mentioned
