» Michigan’s Kyle Mueller opened with a 73 (+2) to position himself tied for 18th after the first round of the NCAA Columbus Regional.
» Mueller recorded 16 pars and two bogeys in his opening round. He is six shots back of the leader and two shots out of the top 10.
» Mueller is making is fourth straight NCAA postseason appearance and first as an individual.
» Mueller will be paired with Iowa’s Alex Schaake and Yale’s Will Bernstein for the second round going off the first tee at 10:04 a.m.
Site: Columbus, Ohio
Course: OSU Golf Club’s Scarlet Course (par 71, 7,364 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Columbus Regional (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: No team score
Top U-M Individual: Kyle Mueller, tie-18th (73, +2)
U-M Next Round: Tuesday, May 15 — at NCAA Columbus Regional (Columbus, Ohio), 10:04 a.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — University of Michigan senior men’s golfer Kyle Mueller carded an opening 73 (+2) today (Monday, May 14) and is tied for 18th after the first round of the NCAA Columbus Regional being played at the OSU Golf Club’s Scarlet Course. Mueller, who is ranked 14th in the country, is participating in the NCAA event as an invited individual.
“I played very solid all day,” said Mueller. “It was one of my best ball-striking rounds all year, I just couldn’t get the putter rolling. The course played really tough but fair. I am very excited about the state of my game and looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
Mueller rattled off four straight pars before the Scarlet Course’s historic, demanding greens caught him, as a three-putt on the par-3, 230-yard fifth hole led to a bogey for his first blemish of the round.
With threatening rain clouds rolling in and rumbles of thunder, an errant tee shot on the par-4, 427-yard ninth hole cost him as he posted his second bogey of the front side and headed to the turn at two-over. Despite those two marks on his card, he remained among the top 25 individually through nine holes and was the highest ranked among the 10 individuals.
Before he headed the back side, lightning was seen in the area, causing the field of 75 golfers to wait for just over an hour before heading back out. When he did return, Mueller was able to find a rhythm, recording nine straight pars to close his round. He is tied for 18th with nine other golfers.
“Kyle hit the ball beautifully today,” said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. “He gave himself enough chances to shoot a better round than he did. They have the course playing long, and the wind makes it tough, so that suits Kyle’s game just fine. He actually putted the ball well; however, the cups were set on some tricky slopes, so getting our reads correct was difficult at times. With improvement each day, we will be right where we want to be at the end of this tournament.”
Mueller will get back to action Tuesday (May 15), playing with Iowa’s Alex Schaake and Yale’s Will Bernstein heading off the front side at 10:04 a.m. From each regional, the top five teams and top individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Finals, to be held Friday through Wednesday, May 25-30, at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Team Standings (After Day 1 of 3)
1. Oklahoma State 281 (-3)
2. UNLV 282
3. Illinois 284
4. Northwestern 292
5. Penn State 293
6. Texas Tech 297
7. Wake Forest 299
8. Louisville 300
Jacksonville 300
10. Michigan State 303
11. Tennessee 306
12. Cleveland State 309
13. Yale 312
Top Individuals
1. Michael Feagles, Illinois 68 (-3)
2. Garrick Higgo, UNLV 69
3. Austin Eckroat, Oklahoma State 70
Kristoffer Ventura, Oklahoma State 70
Hurly Long, Texas Tech 70
Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State 70
Harry Hall, UNLV 70
8. Dylan Meyer, Illinois 71
Zach Bauchou, Oklahoma State 71
Nick Hardy, Illinois 71
Shintaro Ban, UNLV 71
J.D. Hughes, Penn State 71
Michigan Individual
T18. Kyle Mueller 73*
* playing as individual
