Michigan
Louisiana Classics
Wolverines to Head Back to Cajun Country for Louisiana Classics
3/7/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team heads back to Lafayette, La., for the fourth straight season to play in the Louisiana Classics, Monday and Tuesday (March 11-12). The two-day, 54-hole event is scheduled to be played at the Oakbourne Country Club with 14 teams in the field.
Notes:
• Michigan is making its fourth straight appearance at the Louisiana Classics. Led by Will Anderson's tie for 25th last season, the Wolverines posted a ninth-place (907) team finish. U-M was 12th in 2021 and tied for 15th in 2022. The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.
• As is the tradition for the Louisiana Classics, the final day and closing hole (No. 9) will be featured live via ESPN+ with Louisiana Sport Hall of Fame member Dan McDonald calling the action.
• There will be 14 teams among the field for the Louisiana Classics, including: Illinois State, Little Rock, Louisiana (host), LSU, Louisiana Tech, Michigan, Rice, Sam Houston, South Alabama, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State and Wake Forest.
• U-M will travel five starters to the Louisiana Classics. Junior Hunter Thomson, redshirt-junior Ben Hoagland, senior Will Anderson, junior Yuqi Liu and redshirt-junior Jack O'Donnell will make the trip down south.
• Thomson is expected to make his 32nd consecutive start. He has not missed a tournament for U-M in three straight seasons. Anderson is set up to make his 21st straight start and 35th of his 36-event career. Additionally, Liu has started his last 17 events for U-M, while Hoagland has started all nine tournaments this season.
• Michigan has two team titles this season -- the Island Resort Intercollegiate and the Virtues Intercollegiate -- while collecting seven top-five finishes in the eight total events. Individually, U-M has had four medalists with three runners-up. In fact, U-M has posted 14 top-10 and 10 top-5 individual finishes this season. Thomson has paced U-M as the top Wolverine in six events.
• Including nine straight to start the spring season, U-M has had 20 of its 24 team rounds below par with a season-low 273 (-15) in the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate. The Maize and Blue has posted six 54-hole events under par, including two sub-30 finishes -- 830 (-34) at the Virtues Intercollegiate and 834 (-30) at the Island Resort Intercollegiate.
• Thomson is averaging a 69.58 scoring average -- a U-M record pace. He fired 21 of his 24 rounds at-or-below par with a team-best 17 sub-par tallies. He has highlighted the season with a career-low 64 (-8) in the final round of the Palmas del Mar. That 64 ties U-M's second lowest single round score record, and marks the second time a Wolverine has reached that mark after Hoagland fired a 64 (-8) in the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4). No Wolverine has finished a season with a sub-70 scoring average.
• With those six sub-par 54-hole totals, Thomson is averaging 208.75 per event, nearly eight shots under par. Overall, Thomson has 15 sub-par 54-hole totals in 31 career events. During his career he has averaged near even par per event with a 216.21 average.
• Thomson's career-low 201(68-69-64, -15) winning total at the Palmas del Mar tied U-M's second lowest single-round total in program history, trailing only Kyle Mueller's record 198 (69-65-65, -15) at the 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 12-13). This season, Thomson has two of the top 3 best individual 54-hole totals in U-M history -- that 201 total and his 202 (71-65-66, -14) at the Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4).
• With 11 sub-par single round tallies, Hoagland is averaging a career-best-pace 71.50 per round, nearly four shots better than any prior season. In fact, his average is sitting as the third lowest in a season for a Wolverine. Hoagland has posted five sub-par 54-hole totals after recording just one in his two prior seasons. He set a career-low with his 206 (-10) total in the season opener at the Island Resort Intercollegiate.
• Alongside Thomson (69.58) and Hoagland (71.50), a total of four Wolverines are averaging below 72. Anderson adds his name to the list with his career-best-pace 71.92 per round, with 10 sub-par tallies, while Jude Kim is at 71.71 per round with five sub-par rounds. With eight tallies of par-or-better, Liu is just behind with his career-low-pace of 72.75 per round, nearly four shots better than any of his prior two seasons.
Players Mentioned
