Michigan
Gator Invitational
Wolverines Use Stellar Final Round to Finish 11th at Gator Invitational
2/17/2019 6:27:00 PM | Men's Golf
» Using an even-par 280 final round, Michigan jumped three positions and closed 11th at the Gator Invitational with an 868 54-hole total.
» U-M was paced by sub-par rounds by Nick Carlson's 68 (-2) and Ian Martin's 69 (-1) in the final round.
» Overall, Carlson (74-74-68) and Brent Ito (72-72-72) guided the Wolverines as they tied for 34th at 216, respectively.
» Freshman Ben Dunne smashed his previous best 54-hole total by 20 strokes as he tied for 63rd at 223. He added a career-low single-round tally with a 73 in the second round.
Site: Gainesville, Florida
Tournament: Gator Invitational
Course: Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70, 6,071 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 11th Place of 15 Teams (297-291-280/868)
Top U-M Individual: Brent Ito (72-72-72) Nick Carlson (74-74-68), tie-34th (216)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., March 9-10 -- host Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Using sub-par final rounds from senior Nick Carlson (68, -2) and fifth-year senior Ian Martin (69, -1), the University of Michigan men's golf team tallied an even-par 280 final round Sunday (Feb. 17) to move up three positions and closed 11th with an 868 54-hole total at Florida's Gator Invitational.
In the first stroke-play event of the spring season, the Wolverines got off to a slow start posting a 297 team total in Saturday's (Feb. 16) opening round before rallying in the day's second 18 holes closing with a 291. With a 588 26-hole total, the Maize and Blue closed the first day tied for 14th.
Entering Sunday's final round, Carlson's and Martin's sub-par final-round tallies, combined with a 71 from sophomore Charlie Pilon and a third straight 72 from junior Brent Ito, U-M dropped 11 shots to closed with an even-par 280 and jumped three positions to 11th at 868. The Wolverines just missed out on the top 10 by five strokes.
"The guys definitely made a nice comeback today and that seems to be a pattern for us," said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. "I thought we got off to a slow start just because we were not sharp enough. The guys got better as we went, and today looks very comfortable.
"Stroke play is definitely different, and we made a few mistakes that turned out to be big mistakes, but the guys were determined to correct it all today in the final round and for the most part did. The field here this week was very good and I think today's round shows the guys that they are capable of competing when they play the way they are capable."
Individually, Carlson's team-best sixth sub-par round of the season allowed him to jump 19 positions to tie for 34th at 216 (74-74-68), along with teammate Ito, who closed the event posting three straight rounds of 72. Pilon was third among the Wolverines as he tied for 45th after descending all three of his round to close at 219 (76-72-71), while freshman Ben Dunne smashed his career-best total by 20 strokes after his 223 (75-73-75) tied him for 63rd.
In his first career varsity stroke-play event, Martin rebounded from a slow start as he tied for 71st at 226 (77-80-69).
The Wolverines will return to Ann Arbor before heading out to Scottsdale, Arizona, for their yearly spring break training trip. While in Scottsdale, U-M will close its trip hosting the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate at the Desert Mountain Resort, Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10.
Final Team Standings
 1. Vanderbilt         282-275-282 = 839 (-1)  2. Florida            282-282-276 = 840  3. Liberty            285-277-280 = 842  4. North Florida      277-287-282 = 846    South Florida      277-286-283 = 846  6. Missouri           285-292-280 = 857  7. Central Florida    291-283-285 = 859  8. West Virginia      278-286-297 = 861  9. Coastal Carolina   288-289-285 = 862 10. Mississippi State  291-291-285 = 867 11. MICHIGAN           297-291-280 = 868 12. Georgia Southern   285-293-293 = 871 13. Jacksonville       299-287-289 = 875 14. Princeton          293-291-299 = 883 15. Southern Illinois  300-288-298 = 886
Top Individuals
 1. Will Gordon, Vanderbilt          70-63-70 = 203 (-7)  2. Albin Bergstrom, South Florida   67-68-69 = 204  3. Phillip Knowles, North Florida   63-70-73 = 206  4. Andrew Alligood, North Florida   67-71-69 = 207    John Axelsen, Florida            70-69-68 = 207    Patrick Martin, Vanderbilt       69-70-68 = 207  7. Matt Echelmeier, Missouri        71-69-68 = 208    Kyle Flexsenhar, South Florida   68-72-68 = 208    Ervin Chang, Liberty             73-63-72 = 208 10. Jordan Batchelor, North Florida  69-72-68 = 209*     Aden Ye, Florida                72-69-68 = 209*
Michigan Individuals
T34. Nick Carlson   74-74-68 = 216 T34. Brent Ito      72-72-72 = 216 T45. Charlie Pilon  76-72-71 = 219 T63. Ben Dunne      75-73-75 = 223 T71. Ian Martin     77-80-69 = 226 * playing as individual
Players Mentioned
