Michigan
Island Resort Intercollegiate
Wolverines to Open Season at Island Resort Intercollegiate
8/31/2023 11:35:00 AM | Men's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team heads to the Upper Peninsula to open its 2023-24 season for a third straight year at South Dakota State's Island Resort Intercollegiate, Sunday and Monday (Sept. 3-4) in Bark River, Mich. The 11-team field will play 54-holes (36-18) at Sage Run Golf Club.
Notes
• Michigan makes its third straight season-opening trip to the Island Resort Intercollegiate in Bark River, Mich. The Wolverines have posted back-to-back third-place team finishes with an 860 (291-282-287) total in 2022 and an 880 (290-285-305) in 2021.
• Individually, Will Anderson paced the Maize and Blue effort in 2021 as he tied for seventh (218, +2), while three Wolverines were among the top 12 in 2022 led by Ben Hoagland's tie for fourth (210, -6) as an individual. Hunter Thomson (213, -3) tied for ninth and Anderson tied for 11th (214, -2).
• There will be 11 teams competing at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, including: Boise State, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Illinois State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Northern Texas, Ohio, South Dakota State (host), St. Mary's (Calif.) and UCF.
• U-M will travel five starters and an individual to Sage Run. Senior Anderson and junior Thomson head up the starters with redshirt-juniors Hoagland and Jack O'Donnell and junior Yuqi Liu rounding out the five. Freshman Jason Gordon will make his collegiate debut as an individual.
• Anderson and Thomson were the only Wolverines to start all 12 events a year ago. The duo combined to finish as the top Wolverine in 10 of those events (Thomson eight times, Anderson twice). Thomson paced the Wolverines with his 72.81 scoring average, while Anderson was just behind at 73.59. The pair recorded 17 of U-M's 35 sub-par rounds, including Anderson's career-low 64 (-8) at the 2023 Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate.
• The Wolverine duo of Anderson and Thomson have dominated U-M's statistics the last two seasons. They have combined for 37 of U-M's 75 sub-par tallies. Additionally the duo has recorded 13 of the last 24 sub-70 rounds -- Thomson (eight) and Anderson (five). For his career, Thomson has averaged 72.95 per round, while Anderson is holding at 73.85.
• The depth behind Thomson and Anderson has continued to gain experience to help the Wolverines' path forward. Liu started nine events last season, while Hoagland added eight. Hoagland had a career-year with his 74.96 average, more than four and a half shots better than his prior best. Liu knock two strokes off his scoring average last season posting 75.80 per round.
• The Wolverines hit the ground running in the fall with the Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4). In mid-September, U-M heads to the Windy City for Wake Forest's Chicago Highlands Collegiate (Sept. 18-19). The first month comes to a close with the co-hosted -- by Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio) -- Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26) at the Virtues Golf Club. In October, the Maize and Blue heads back to the Little Rock Invitational (Oct. 16-17) for the second straight year before closing the first half of the season at the Clerico (Oct. 23-24) at the Oaks Country Club in Tulsa.
Players Mentioned
