Michigan
Palmas del Mar Collegiate
Wolverines to Open Spring Season in Puerto Rico at Palmas del Mar Collegiate
2/6/2025 1:54:00 PM | Men's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After nearly three months removed from competition, the University of Michigan men's golf team is ready to begin its spring season. The Wolverines start by heading to Puerto Rico for the Palmas del Mar Collegiate from Sunday through Tuesday (Feb. 9-11). The three-day, 54-hole event will be played at the Palmas del Mar Golf Club's Flamboyan Course, which will be set up for a par 72 and 7,122 yards.
Notes
• The Palmas del Mar Collegiate has a field of 14 teams, including Arkansas, Boston College, Butler, Drexel, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Texas, Rutgers, TCU, UNC Greensboro (host) and Virginia Tech.
• With three days of play scheduled (18-18-18), Sunday's (Feb. 9) play opens with an 8:30 a.m. AST shotgun start (note: Atlantic Standard Time is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time). After re-shuffling teams by score, Monday's (Feb. 10) second round will be an 8:30 a.m. AST shotgun start. Tuesday's (Feb. 11) final round is scheduled for an 8 a.m. AST shotgun start.
• U-M will travel five starters and an individual for the Palmas del Mar Collegiate. Senior Hunter Thomson, freshman RJ Arone, and senior Yuqi Liu make up the top three, while freshman Dean Muratore and fifth-year senior Ben Hoagland round out the starting five. Freshman Nicolas Simon will make his collegiate debut playing as an individual.
• During the holiday break, the Wolverines played in eight events, getting in some strong amateur competition before the start of the spring season. Simon posted a tie for fourth at the Sonoran Amateur (212, -4), and Liu was fifth at the Orlando Amateur (213, -2). Thomson returned to the Patriot All-American, where his 207 (-3) helped him tie for 17th. Jason Gordon (t-14th; 294) and Jack O'Donnell (t-17th; 295) helped the Maize and Blue place two among the top 20 at the Dixie Amateur.
• Michigan closed its fall season playing in six events, securing four top-five finishes, including winning the Virtues Intercollegiate (559, -17) and posting a runner-up finish at the Canadian Collegiate (852, -12). U-M is averaging just over par with a 288.18 per-round score and has posted six rounds under par, including a season-low 276 (-12) tally in the second round of the Virtues Intercollegiate.
• During the fall season, U-M secured a pair of Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors. Thomson's victory at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational (202, -14) helped him to his second career medalist honor and gave him an exemption to play in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open (June 3-5) at the TPC of Toronto. Liu earned U-M's second accolade after he tied for medalist honors (137, -7) for a second straight year at the rain-shortened Virtues Intercollegiate.
• Thomson continues to pace the Wolverines, finishing the fall with a career-best-pace 70.12 scoring average. He had fired nine rounds under par with a season-best 66 (-6) in back-to-back rounds in his win at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational. He led U-M in five of six fall events. Overall, Thomson has finished as the top Wolverine in 28 of his 42 career events.
• Rookie Arone started all six fall events and carried a 73.06 scoring average. He posted three top-15 finishes, including his fall-best sixth-place finish at the Virtues Intercollegiate (141, -3). Classmate Muratore has started five events and is just behind Arone with a 73.24 scoring average. Muratore closed his fall season with a pair of top-15 finishes -- t-7th at the Virtues (142, -2) and t-11th at the Qubein Cup (217, +7)
Players Mentioned
