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This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Big Ten Match Play Championships
2/5/2019 1:44:00 PM | Men's Golf
» After three and a half months away from competition, U-M returns for its 11th straight trip to the Big Ten Match Play Championship held at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.
» The Championship will be held on two courses at the resorts -- the Conservatory and Ocean Courses.
» Michigan won the Big Ten Match Play in 2014 and has runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2015.
» The Wolverines welcome fifth-year senior Ian Martin to the roster as he will compete in his first varsity event after spending three years with U-M's club team.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., Feb. 8-9 -- Big Ten Match Play Championships (Palm Coast, Fla.)
Live Scoring | Bracket (PDF)
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Next on the Tee: Big Ten Match Play Championship
The University of Michigan men's golf team returns to competition following a three-and-a-half month hiatus as the Wolverines travel to Palm Coast, Florida, to compete in the 2019 Big Ten Match Play Championship, Friday and Saturday (Feb. 8-9). The two-day event will be held at the Hammock Beach Resort with all matches played on the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course and Ocean Course. Each team will have six members competing per match.
The B1G Match Play Championship Field
All 14 members of the conference will be competing in the Big Ten Match Play Championship. Seeding for the event will be No. 1 Illinois (25th-ranked nationally), No. 2 Northwestern (36), No. 3 Iowa (38), No. 4 Ohio State (52), No. 5 Penn State (59), No. 6 Purdue (67), No. 7 Minnesota (70), No. 8 Michigan State (72), No. 9 Indiana (80), No. 10 Maryland (93), No.11 Michigan (94), No. 12 Wisconsin (102), No. 13 Rutgers (123) and No. 14 Nebraska (163).
U-M's B1G Match Play Schedule
• Practice Round
Thursday, Feb. 7 -- 8:00 a.m. (tee times)
• First Round
Friday, Feb. 8 -- M1 vs. Purdue, 8Â a.m. (Conservatory Course)
• Quarterfinal (if win M1)
Friday, Feb. 8 -- M2 vs. Iowa/Nebraska winner, 1:30 p.m. (Ocean Course)
• Semifinal (if win M1, M2)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M3 vs. TBD, 8 a.m. (Ocean Course)
• Consolation Semifinal (if win M1, lose M2)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M5 vs. TBD, 8 a.m. (Ocean Course)
• Championship (if win M1, M2 & M3)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M4 vs. TBD, 1:30 p.m. (Ocean Course)
• 3rd/4th Place (if win M1, M2 & lose M3)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M4 vs. TBD, 1:30 p.m. (Ocean Course)
• 5th/6th Place (if win M5)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M6 vs. TBD, 1:30 p.m. (Ocean Course)
• 7th/8th Place (if lose M5)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- M6 vs. TBD, 1:30 p.m. (Ocean Course)
• Extra Matches (if lose M1)
Friday, Feb. 8 -- vs. Iowa/Nebraska loser, 1:30 p.m. (Conservatory Course)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- vs. Minnesota/Maryland loser, 8 a.m. (Conservatory Course)
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- vs. Penn State/#Wisconsin loser, 1:30 p.m. (Conservatory Course)
The Michigan Lineup
With six players competing in each match, Michigan will select its final six starters following the practice round. Heading down to Florida will be fifth-year senior Ian Martin, senior Nick Carlson, juniors Brent Ito and Taisei Negishi, sophomores Charlie Pilon and Henry Spring and freshman Ben Dunne.
U-M's History at the B1G Match Play Championship
• Michigan is 18-16 all-time at the Big Ten Match Play Championships.
• U-M won the event in 2014 and has had runner-up finishes in the inaugural event in 2009 as well as 2015.
• Below are the links to each of U-M's 10 appearances at the Big Ten Match Play event.
2009: 2-1 (runner-up)
2010: 1-2 (sixth place)
2011: 2-1 (fifth place)
2012: 1-1 (no team place, as time did not permit conclusion of full match play event)
2013: 2-2 (seventh place)
2014: 4-0 (champions)
2015: 3-1 (runner-up)
2016: 2-2 (seventh place)
2017: 1-2 (seventh place)
2018: 0-4 (14th place)
The 2014 B1G Match Play Championship Run
Michigan won its first Big Ten Match Play Championship title at the Concession Golf Club (Feb. 14-15, 2014) in Bradenton, Florida. The Maize and Blue won all four of its weekend matchups during the two-day event and defeated the seventh-seeded Purdue Boilermakers in a sudden-death playoff to capture the Big Ten Match Play Championship trophy. Chris O'Neill (2013-16) led Michigan with a 3-1 record, while Brett McIntosh (2013-16) posted a 2-1-1 record and Noori Hyun (2012-15) had a team-best six birdies in 16 holes. [ Recap ]
Wolverine Match Play Records
Nick Carlson: 9 (2-5-2)
Brent Ito: 4 (2-1-1)
Charlie Pilon: 4 (1-3-0)
Henry Spring: 3 (1-2-0)
Taisei Negishi: 1 (0-1-0)
Ian Martin: none
Ben Dunne: none
Why Big Ten Match Play?
In conjunction with the NCAA's postseason format shift to determine the team national champion via the match play format, the Big Ten was the first conference to emulate that format to open each of the last nine spring seasons. The NCAA Finals begin with 54 holes of stroke play to determine the individual champion and to narrow the field to eight teams. Those eight advance and compete in match play to determine the team national champion.
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 native of nearby Saline, Michigan, 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.
• While Ian Martin will make his career debut, Nick Carlson is expected to start his 39th career event at the Big Ten Match Play. The rest of the Wolverines' potential starters have combined for 39 total starts -- Charlie Pilon (13), Brent Ito (12), Henry Spring (11), Ben Dunne (2) and Taisei Negishi (1).
• Opening the season with a tie for seventh place 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 IntercollegiateÂ
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 with a 267 (-17). The score lowered the previous best tally by three shots -- 270 (-14), in the final round of the 2016 Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 19-20) -- which was paced by a Carlson 67 (-4).
Inside the Maize and Blue
• Michigan made its fifth straight NCAA regional appearance in 2017-18, as Kyle Mueller won the Columbus Regional and made his second career NCAA Finals appearance. During the five-year stretch, U-M has three team appearances (2017 Washington, 2016 Vanderbilt and 2015 Washington) and two individual appearances (2018 Mueller and 2014 Chris O'Neill).
• U-M has 41 NCAA postseason appearances with 13 regional stops 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 23 NCAA team final appearances, winning back-to-back national titles in 1934 and 1935. The Wolverines also have had 11 individuals advance to the NCAA Finals, with the last by Mueller in 2018.
Up Next
• Sat-Sun., Feb. 16-17 -- Gator Invitational (Gainesville, Fla.)
Players Mentioned
