What You Need to Know
» Kyle Mueller’s final-round 67 (-5) propelled him to medalist honors for the second time in his career. The win is his second straight top-three finish at Northwestern’s event after finishing third a year ago.
» U-M has now claimed medalist honors in both its opening fall events, following Nick Carlson’s first career win at the Inverness Intercollegiate.
» It has been 17 years since the Wolverines have posted back-to-back wins. The last was former U-M great Michael Harris (1997-2000), who won two straight events during the 1999 fall season. Harris finished the season with four total individual titles.
» For the second straight week, U-M rallied in the final round (288, E) and earned a top-three finish, closing third with an 870 total. It is U-M’s fourth straight top-three finish at Northwestern’s home event.
Site: Glenview, Ill.
Course: North Shore Country Club (par 72, 7,103 yards)
Tournament: Windon Memorial Classic
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 14 Teams (288-294-288/870, +6)
Top U-M Individual: Kyle Mueller, 1st (71-71-67/209, -7)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., Oct. 3-4 — at Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Vestavia Hills, Ala.)
GLENVIEW, Ill. — Using a final-round 67 (-5), junior Kyle Mueller claimed medalist honors today (Monday, Sept. 26) at the Windon Memorial Classic by three strokes, posting a 209 (-7) and helping the University of Michigan men’s golf team to a third-place finish after an 870 54-hole team total at North Shore Country Club.
Mueller’s title gives the Wolverines back-to-back individual wins to open the season following sophomore Nick Carlson‘s victory at last weekend’s Inverness Intercollegiate. In addition, the two wins mark the first time in 17 years U-M has had back-to-back individual titles. Former U-M great Michael Harris (1997-2000) was the last Wolverine to accomplish the feat after winning the 1999 Stan Sheriff Invitational (Nov. 22-23) and the 1999 Mauna Kea Collegiate (Nov. 25-26) — part of four titles that season for Harris.
“It was playing tough out there today,” said Mueller. “The wind was gusting all day. I just tried to stay patient. I hit the ball well all week; however, the big difference between this week and last week was my putting. I made a lot more of my mid-distance putts this week, and that was really what did it.”
Mueller used his length to his advantage this week, playing the par 5s at six under and recording 12 total birdies and an eagle throughout his 54 holes. After back-to-back rounds of one-under 71, he was tied for seventh. Battling the gusty winds in today’s final round, he posted the 78-player field’s only sub-70 round to cap his second career title by three shots at 209 (-7).
“Back-to-back individual titles is big for the program,” added Mueller. “We are starting to push each other to get better. Nick winning last week definitely had a positive impact on me this week.”
For the second straight weekend, U-M rallied in the final round to post its second straight top-three finish of the season. Led by Mueller’s 67 (-5) and Carlson’s 70 (-2), U-M put together the day’s lowest team round at even-par 288 to move up from fifth to a third. The top-three finish is the fourth straight for the Wolverines at Northwestern’s event.
“As a team, we have been relaxed in the final round, and it’s too bad we have had to dig out of holes, but we have been able to do it,” said U-M head coach Chris Whitten. “It always feels good to post the low round on the last day. It’s exciting to see the depth on the team. Obviously, it has been two great weeks for Nick and Kyle, but I think we have more players capable of doing the same thing.”
“It is very impressive to show the determination to play our best rounds at the end of the tournament,” added Whitten. “We would like to be in contention to win events, but this will give us some good momentum heading into Alabama.”
Overall, U-M placed three among the top 20; Carlson tied for 12th at 218 (74-74-70), while senior Reed Hrynewich tied for 18th at 220 (68-74-78).
“It’s great to see that we have the grit and determination to finish the tournament,” said Mueller. “It says something about this team. If we can figure out the first two rounds we will have a special year.”
For the third straight weekend, the Wolverines will be on the road for an event. This time, U-M heads to Vestavia Hills, Alabama, for Alabama’s Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 3-4 at the Old Overton Club. This is the first invitation for the Maize and Blue to the Crimson Tides event.
Final Team Standings
1. Florida 282-286-293 = 861 (-3)
2. Eastern Michigan 289-281-298 = 868
3. MICHIGAN 288-294-288 = 870
4. Northwestern 282-296-295 = 873
5. UC Davis 286-286-309 = 881
6. Princeton 299-289-297 = 885
7. Purdue 289-295-302 = 886
8. Iowa 288-302-297 = 887
9. Wisconsin 296-298-296 = 890
10. Marquette 293-296-302 = 891
11. Indiana 295-298-303 = 896
12. Northern Illinois 300-297-309 = 906
13. DePaul 300-301-312 = 913
14. Rutgers 298-301-319 = 918
Top Individuals
1. KYLE MUELLER, U-M 71-71-67 = 209 (-7)
2. Jordan Hahn, Wisconsin 70-67-75 = 212
Dylan Wu, Northwestern 69-72-71 = 212
Kyle Rodes, Eastern Michigan 76-66-70 = 212
Gordon Neale, Florida 70-70-72 = 212
6. Andy Zhang, Florida 68-70-75 = 213
7. Ben Corfee, UC Davis 68-73-73 = 214
8. Oliver Farrell, Marquette 70-75-72 = 217
Matthew Walker, Iowa 70-70-77 = 217
Ryan Celano, Florida 72-71-74 = 217
Beau Breault, Eastern Michigan 72-70-75 = 217
Other Michigan Individuals
T12. Nick Carlson 74-74-70 = 218
T18. Reed Hrynewich 68-74-78 = 220
T37. Tom Swanson 75-75-76 = 226
T54. Bryce Evon 77-78-75 = 230
T37. Brent Ito 76-74-76 = 226*
* played as individual
