Michigan
Desert Mountain Collegiate
Liu's Top-Five Showing Leads U-M to Runner-Up Finish at Desert Mountain Collegiate
3/5/2023 9:14:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With a 286 (-2) second round highlighting Michigan's second day of play, the Wolverines posted an 875 54-hole total to tie for runner-up honors at its Desert Mountain Collegiate played at the Outlaw Course.
» With a career-low 217 (+1) total, Yuqi Liu led the Wolverines with his career-best tie for fifth.
» Paced with his opening 68 (-4), Ben Hoagland posted his second career top-20 finish, tying for 19th with a 221 54-hole total.
Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: Outlaw Course at Desert Mountain (Par 72, 7,107 yards)
Tournament: Desert Mountain Collegiate
U-M Team Standing: t-2nd Place of 16 Teams (293-286-296/875)
Top U-M Individual: Yuqi Liu, t-5th, (76-70-71/217, +1)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., March 13-14 -- at Louisiana Classics (Lafayette, La.)
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Led by sophomore Yuqi Liu's career weekend and three Wolverines among the top 25, the University of Michigan men's golf team tallied an 875 54-hole total to tie for runner-up honors at the Desert Mountain Collegiate on Sunday (March 5) at the Outlaw Course. U-M hosted the annual spring-break ending event for the eighth time.
The Wolverines used a 68 (-4) from redshirt-junior Ben Hoagland and a 73 (+1) from junior Jude Kim to tally a 293 and position themselves sixth on Saturday (March 4). Heading straight into the second round, sophomore Hunter Thomson's' 69 (-3) and Liu's 70 (-2) highlighted U-M's afternoon play before darkness suspended play for the 16-team field.
Returning Sunday morning, the Maize and Blue finished its second 18 with a 286 (-2) to move up four spots to the runner-up spot. With a final-round 71s (-1) from Liu and junior Will Anderson, the Wolverines finished with a 296 to earn their fourth runner-up finish in eight tries.
Highlighting U-M's individuals, graduate transfer James Hill posted a 229 (79-80-70) to tie for 52nd. His final-round 70 (-2). Both of his tallies were his best as a Wolverine and his final-round score was the 15th sub-par tally of his career.
With his career-low 217 (+1), Liu recorded his first career top-five finish, tying for fifth after rounds of 76, 70 (-2) and 71 (-1). Liu also recorded his second top-20 and first top-10 finish as well. Using the second-lowest round of his career (68, -4), Hoagland posted his second top-20 finish of his season, tying for 19th at 221 -- the second lowest 54-hole tally of his career. Thomson's 225 (t-23rd) total helped U-M place three Wolverines among the top 35.
The Wolverines will not take long before returning to competition as they head to Lafayette, La., on Monday and Tuesday (March 13-14) for the Louisiana Classics. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at Oakbourne Country Club. Last year, Michigan tied for 15th at the event.
Final Team Standings
1. Mississippi State 283-293-290 = 866 (+2) 2. MICHIGAN 293-286-296 = 875 Little Rock 296-285-294 = 875 4. Santa Clara 288-294-297 = 879 5. New Mexico State 292-287-303 = 882 6. USC 300-298-286 = 884 7. Miami (Ohio) 296-296-295 = 887 8. Lipscomb 288-302-299 = 889 9. ULM 295-294-307 = 896 Illinois State 298-302-296 = 896 11. Nebraska 291-316-296 = 903 12. UTEP 297-305-304 = 906 13. South Dakota State 300-307-302 = 909 14. Central Michigan 306-312-304 = 922 15. Connecticut 299-316-313 = 928 16. DePaul 303-318-312 = 933
Top Individuals
1. Ruan Pretorius, Mississippi State 68-70-70 = 208 (-8) 2. Matteo Cristoni, Little Rock 69-72-70 = 211 3. Viraj Garewal, Santa Clara 70-70-74 = 214 Aidan Thomas, New Mexico State 72-68-74 = 214 5. YUQI LIU, U-M 76-70-71 = 217 Danny Fisher, Miami (Ohio) 71-72-74 = 217 7. Kiko Coelho, Arizona State 72-69-77 = 218* Melan Dhaubhadel, ULM 71-72-75 = 218 Marcus Khaw, UTEP 71-72-75 = 218 Austin Vukovits, Mississippi State 70-76-72 = 218 Alexandre Bauduin, New Mexico State 73-72-73 = 218
Other Michigan Individuals
T19. Ben Hoagland 68-74-79 = 221 T23. Hunter Thomson 76-69-77 = 222 T35. Will Anderson 81-73-71 = 225 T80. Jude Kim 73-88-77 = 238 T52. James Hill 79-80-70 = 229* T64. Pier Francesco de Col 81-78-72 = 231* T75. Jack O'Donnell 75-78-82 = 235* 92. Bavake Sihota 81-82-86 = 249* * playing as individual
