Michigan
Louisiana Classics
Canceled: This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Louisiana Classics
3/12/2020 10:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
» Michigan has reached the halfway point of its spring season and will play in the Louisiana Classics, Monday and Tuesday (March 16-17), at the Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana.
» U-M is heading back to competition following its spring-break training trip capped off with an eighth-place showing at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
» Pier Francesco De Col will start in the No. 1 spot for the first time in his career.
» Brent Ito continues to lead U-M with a 72.67 scoring average. He has started all seven events.
THIS WEEK
Mon-Tue., March 16-17 -- at Louisiana Classics (Lafayette, La.)
Live Scoring - to come | Live Video (Hole 9) Day 1 / Day 2
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• Watch: Get to Know Zach Barlow
COVID-19 Update: On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. In response, the University of Michigan has suspended all athletic activities, including practices, effective immediately, until further notice. Fans who purchased tickets for affected events will receive a refund. For the latest information on the situation, please visit MGoBlue.com/covid19.
Next on the Tee: Louisiana Classics
The University of Michigan men's golf team has reached the halfway point of its spring regular season as the Wolverines will travel to Lafayette, Louisiana, for the Louisiana Classics, Monday and Tuesday (March 16-17). The 35th annual event will be a two-day, 54-hole competition played at the Oakbourne Country Club. Scoring will be five players, count the four lowest scores. The course is scheduled to be set up as a par 72 at 6,866 yards.
The Louisiana Classics Field
There will be 16 teams competing at the Louisiana Classics, including Illinois, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, McNeese, Michigan, Missouri-Kansas City, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oral Roberts, Rice, Sam Houston, Southern Illinois, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio.
The Louisiana Classics Schedule
Friday, March 13 -- Travel Day
Saturday, March 14 -- Practice Round, 1 p.m. CDT
Sunday, March 15 -- College AM, 8 a.m. CDT (shotgun)
Monday, March 16 -- First Round (18), 8 a.m. CDT (shotgun)
Monday, March 16 -- Second Round (18), continuous play following the completion of the first round
Tuesday, March 17 -- Final Round (18), 8 a.m. CDT (shotgun)
The Louisiana Classics Lineup
Michigan will travel a five-member starting group and one individual to the Louisiana Classics. Starting for the Wolverines will be freshman Pier Francesco Del Col, sophomore Patrick Sullivan, senior Brent Ito, junior Charlie Pilon and sophomore Ben Dunne. Junior Henry Spring will travel and compete as an individual.
Wolverine Bites
• Following his tie for 15th place at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, Pier Francesco De Col not only led the Wolverines for the first time in his career, he earned the No. 1 position for the upcoming Louisiana Classics. In his first season after coming from Italy, De Col has started five events and is third on the team with a 74.92 scoring average.
• Brent Ito led the Wolverines in three fall events with top-25 finishes. He began with his first career top-10 finish, tying for ninth at the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 16-17) with a 212 (-1) tally. He followed with a tie for 11th at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 23-24) with a 216 (+3) total. He then posted a 214 (+1) to tie for 23rd at the Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 7-8). Ito's 72.67 scoring average leads the Wolverines.
• Ito has posted 10 of his 18 rounds at par or under. He leads U-M with seven total sub-par rounds, including a season-low 68 (-3) in the first round of the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. His 211 (-2) tally at the Royal Oaks marked his third career sub-par 54-hole total. He owns four of the top five 54-hole totals by a Wolverine this season and is averaging 218.0 per event.
• Patrick Sullivan opened the spring season leading the Wolverines at the Big Ten Match Play Championship with a perfect 4-0 record. His feat matched the Wolverines' best record at the conference match-play event as he equaled the unbeaten 2015 performance (4-0) by U-M great Kyle Mueller. Overall, nine different Wolverines have finish with an unblemished record at the Big Ten's match-play event.
• Charlie Pilon led the Wolverines for the final two fall events and boosted his career total to four after he won the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate with a career-low 205 (-8) total. Pilon has six sub-par rounds, including a Michigan-low 67 (-4) in the first round at the Royal Oaks and is averaging a career-best pace of 73.00 per round. Playing in 27 career events, he has started his last 25 straight events for the Wolverines spanning over three seasons.
• A starter in all six events, Ben Dunne has averaged 75.39 per round. His career-low 69 (-2) in the final round of the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate helped him post a career-low 220 in Dallas. His scoring average is nearly two shots better than last year's rookie campaign (77.05).
• For the third straight season Henry Spring has twice shot his career low of 69. First, he closed his Inverness Intercollegiate with five birdies to post a 69 (-2). In the next event, he repeated the score but with seven birdies for a finishing 69 (-2) at the Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 7-8). Spring has a 73.83 final-round average after marks of 77.67 (first round) and 79.00 (second round) to begin events. For the season, he is averaging 76.83 per round.
• This season, Michigan welcomed new head coach Zach Barlow, who spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at Illinois. Over that span, Barlow helped head coach Mike Small guide Illinois to five consecutive Big Ten titles, win three NCAA regional championships, five consecutive NCAA finals and three match-play semifinal appearances.
• Barlow hired college teammate Matt Hoffman as his assistant coach. After a six-year professional career, Hoffman spent the last two years as an assistant coach with one of Canada's most prestigious golf programs at Humber College (2017-19) in Toronto. In his two seasons, the Hawks won back-to-back Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships and were second in the 2019 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships after a third-place finish in 2018.
Players Mentioned
