Michigan
Border Olympics
Runner-up Thomson Guides U-M to Fourth at Border Olympics
2/18/2025 4:57:00 PM | Men's Golf
» With three sub-par Wolverine final rounds, Michigan used an even-par 284 team total to earn a second straight top-five spring finish -- closing fourth (863) at the Border Olympics played at the Laredo Country Club.
» With his final round 69 (-2), Hunter Thomson finished a shot back of medalist honors as he recorded the seventh runner-up finish of his career with a 209, -4 (70-70-69) 54-hole total.
» Following with his own closing 69 (-2), Yuqi Liu cracked the top 15 as he tied for 11th with a 215, +2 (70-76-69) performance.
» In its fifth straight Border Olympics appearance, U-M posted a third straight top-five finish. The Wolverines were third in 2023 and tied for fifth last season.
Site: Laredo, Texas
Tournament: Border Olympics
Course: Laredo Country Club (par 71, 7,257 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 4th of 16 Teams (283-296-284/863)
Top U-M Individual: Hunter Thomson, 2nd (70-70-69/209, -4)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., March 7-8 -- host, Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
LAREDO, Texas -- A runner-up finish for senior Hunter Thomson and a top-15 for fellow senior Yuqi Liu helped the University of Michigan men's golf team use its 863 54-hole total today (Tuesday, Feb. 18) to finish fourth at Houston's Border Olympics played at the Laredo Country Club.
U-M's finish helped the Wolverines post a second straight top-five finish to open their spring season and extend their streak to four straight among the top five including the end of the fall season. Overall, the Maize and Blue have six top-five finishes in eight events.
Getting off to a strong start, Thomson and Liu's opening 70s (-1) combined with freshman Dean Muratore's even 71 and classmate RJ Arone's 72, U-M posted a 283 (-1) and sat atop the leaderboard after 18 holes. Despite a second straight 70 (-1) by Thomson, no Wolverines carded a score lower than 74 as U-M's second-round 296 slipped into a tie for fourth (579) with Miami (Ohio) after the first day.
As Thomson and Liu closed with 69s (-2) and fifth-year senior Ben Hoagland rallied with a 70 (-1), the Maize and Blue battled in the final round and earned an even-par 284 to garner the four spot with an 863 54-hole total.
Using those back-to-back 70s, Thomson positioned himself in a three-way tie for the lead after 36 holes. After two bogeys (Nos 6, 13) and a birdie (No. 10), Thomson made a mad dash for the finish with three straight birdies on Nos 16, 17 and 18 to post a 69Â (-2) and finish a shot back of medalist Ethan Klose (New Mexico State), who tallied a 208, -5 (70-71-67) total. Thomson's runner-up finish was the seventh of his career.
Behind Thomson, Liu was able to capture a top-15 finish for the Wolverines and he bookended sub-par rounds of 70 (-1) and 69 (-2) around a second-round 76 to post a 215 (+2) total and tie for 11th. Arone rounded out U-M's top three with his 224 (72-76-76), tying him for 44th. Competing as an individual for a second straight event, freshman Nicolas Simon tied for 53rd at 225 (73-80-72).
After a year away, Michigan returns to Scottsdale, Ariz., Friday and Saturday (March 7-8) during its spring break and will host the Desert Mountain Collegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the Desert Mountain Golf Club's Outlaw Course. It will be the ninth time the Wolverines will host a spring event. U-M claimed titles in 2017 and 2022 (tri).
Final Team Standings
1. Louisiana 286-286-283 = 855
2. Houston 284-291-286 = 861
New Mexico State 284-292-285 = 861
4. MICHIGAN 283-296-284 = 863
5. Rice 296-286-283 = 865
6. Miami (Ohio) 288-291-291 = 870
7. Sam Houston 291-297-284 = 872
Lipscomb 301-288-283 = 872
9. Troy 287-304-283 = 874
10. ULM 284-303-293 = 880
11. Augusta 299-300-289 = 888
12. Wright State 291-308-296 = 895
13. UTRGV 296-297-304 = 897
14. Illinois State 304-296-298 = 898
Lamar 290-305-303 = 898
16. Houston Christian 306-307-295 = 908
Top Individuals
1. Ethan Klose, New Mexico State 70-71-67 = 208 (-5)
2. HUNTER THOMSON, U-M 70-70-69 = 209
3. Malan Potgieter, Louisiana 69-72-70 = 211
Kyle Bennett, Louisiana 70-70-71 = 211
5. Lukas Boandl, Rice 72-69-71 = 212
6. Chi Chun Chen, Houston 72-74-67 = 213
Aidan Thomas, New Mexico State 70-71-72 = 213
8. Daniel Zou, Rice 74-68-72 = 214
Michael Weber, Miami (Ohio) 70-73-71 = 214
Laurenz Schiergen, Houston 69-71-74 = 214
Michigan Individuals
2. Hunter Thomson 70-70-69 = 209 (-4) T11. Yuqi Liu 70-76-69 = 215 T44. RJ Arone 72-76-76 = 224 T49. Dean Muratore 71-78-76 = 225 T53. Ben Hoagland 79-74-70 = 223 T53. Nicolas Simon 73-80-72 = 225* * played as individual
Players Mentioned
