THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., April 1-2 — at The Aggie Invitational (Bryan, Texas)
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Next on the Tee: The Aggie Invitational
Looking to rebound after finishing 13th at the Linger Longer Invitational, the University of Michigan men’s golf team will head to Bryan, Texas, Saturday and Sunday (April 1-2) for Texas A&M’s Aggie Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole event will feature 13 teams playing at the Traditions Club. The course will be set up for a par 72 and 7,146 yards.
The Aggie Invitational Field
There will be 13 teams competing at the 2017 Aggie Invitational, including — No. 27 Arkansas, No. 4 Baylor, No. 7 Kent State, No. 8 LSU, Michigan, New Mexico State, No. 29 North Carolina, North Texas, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Texas, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 13 Texas Tech and UTSA.
The Aggie Invitational Schedule
Thursday, March 30 — Travel Day
Friday, March 31 — Practice Round (18) tee times at 10:20 a.m. CDT
Saturday, April 1 — First Round (18) begins with tee times at 7:30 a.m. CDT
Saturday, April 2 — Second Round (18) continuous play following completion for first round
Sunday, April 2 — Final Round (18) begins with tee times at 7:30 a.m. CDT
The Aggie Invitational Lineup
The Wolverines will travel five starters to the Aggie Invitational. The starting five will include junior Kyle Mueller, sophomore Nick Carlson and seniors Reed Hrynewich, Tom Swanson and Bryce Evon.
History at the Aggie Invitational
• In 2014: Michigan tied for ninth at 926 at the 2014 Aggie Invitational (April 5-6). The Maize and Blue featured a pair of top-25 finishers in Noori Hyun (tie-19th, 226) and Chris O’Neill (tie-21st, 227). [ Recap ]
• In 2015: Paced by top-30 finishes from Kyle Mueller (t-21st, 225) and O’Neill (t-29th, 228), Michigan was ninth with a 919 total at the 2015 Aggie Invitational (April 4-5). The Wolverines got off to a slow start, opening with a 318 total, before rebounding with team tallies of 302 and 299. [ Recap ]
• In 2016: Michigan used three top-20 finishes to finish eighth with an 887 total at the 2016 Aggie Invitational (April 2-3). O’Neill led tying for 10th (217), while Mueller tied for 16th (219), and Reed Hrynewich tied for 20th (222). For the second straight year, U-M descended its team tallies — 304, 296 and 287. [ Recap ]
Starter History at the Aggie Invitational
Michigan
2014: t-9th, 316-303-307 = 926
2015: 9th, 318-302-299 = 919
2016: 8th, 304-296-287 = 887
Reed Hrynewich
2014: 63rd, 80-84-80 = 244
2015: t-50th, 86-78-72 = 236
2016: t-20th, 73-76-73 = 222
Tom Swanson
2014: t-48th, 80-75-82 = 237
2016: 76th, 77-86-80 = 243
Bryce Evon
2015: t-36th, 79-77-74 = 230
Kyle Mueller
2015: t-21st, 74-73-78 = 225
2016: t-16th, 77-72-70 = 219
Nick Carlson
2016: t-49th, 77-77-75 = 229
WOLVERINE BITES
• After having to withdraw from the final round of the Desert Mount Intercollegiate, Kyle Mueller responded, posting his seventh top-15 individual performance in eight events this season and tying for 10th at the Linger Longer Invitational. In fact, he has five top-10 finishes this season. He continues to lead U-M with a record-pace 70.73 per-round average, producing 14 of U-M’s 37 sub-par rounds this season.
• Michigan has posted five top-three finishes, with two team titles (Dayton Flyer Invitational and Desert Mountain Intercollegiate), three individual medalists and one individual runner-up. The Wolverines are averaging a U-M record-pace 288.35 per team round with Kyle Mueller (70.73) and Nick Carlson (71.74) in a battle for the individual scoring record.
• Reed Hrynewich led the Wolverines to their second team title this season at the Desert Mountain intercollegiate. With U-M’s No. 1 player, Kyle Mueller, out of the final round due to illness, Hrynewich guided the Maize and Blue with his runner-up medalist honor, posting a career-best 207 (-9) total and smashing his 54-hole previous best by seven strokes. En route to his best finish since his freshman season, he opened his tournament with a 68 (-4) and followed with a career-best 66 (-6), which included two eagles and four birdies. He closed with a 73.
• U-M has had at least one individual finish among the top 25 in all eight stroke-play events. In fact, twice the Wolverines had two among the top 10 and three among the top five at the Dayton Flyer Invitational — including co-medalists Ian Kim (playoff winner) and Nick Carlson. Overall, U-M has 15 individual finishes among the top 15 this season.
• U-M’s individual battle for the top two spots is heating up. Kyle Mueller is holding the lead with a 70.73 per-round average with 14 sub-par rounds. Nick Carlson has nine rounds under par and is second at 71.74. U-M has 37 sub-par rounds to date and average 73.94 per individual round.
• With his expected start at the Aggie Invitational, Kyle Mueller will have started all 34 tournaments of his career. He played in 13 events as a freshman after earning an individual invite to the NCAA Finals after nearly winning the 2014 NCAA Washington Regional (t-2nd). Last season, he started all 11 events. In addition to Mueller, Nick Carlson has started all 20 of his events in his young career.
• With eight stroke-play events in the books, Kyle Mueller is averaging 211.17 per 54-hole event. In fact, four of his seven tallies are under par with a season-low 209 (-7) posted at the Windon Memorial Classic. All five of Mueller’s 54-hole event tallies are part of the top 10 tallied this season.
• Using four individual sub-par rounds, Michigan posted a 270 (-14) final round at the Inverness Intercollegiate to lower the program single-round record by two shots. Last fall, U-M posted a 272 (-12) in the first round of the MacKenzie (Oct. 12-13, 2015) to set a new program mark. Overall, it is just the seventh double-digit under par team total in U-M history. In addition, the record round shattered the event’s single-round record by seven, which was posted by Duke (277) in the tournament’s first round.
• En route to U-M’s record-breaking 270 (-14) team total, Tom Swanson and Nick Carlson each carded career-best rounds of 67 (-4). Swanson, who broke 70 for the first time in his U-M career, played the opening nine holes at six under with two eagles and three birdies to help record his top round. With five birdies and an eagle of his own, Carlson lowered his previous best by a shot.
• U-M coach Chris Whitten had three early signings in the fall — Connor Prassas (Winnetka, Ill.), Charlie Pilon (Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia) and Henry Spring (Whakatane, New Zealand). [ Release ]
THREE TITLES
• Ian Kim walked away with the individual title at the Dayton Individual (Oct. 17-18), winning a playoff against teammate Nick Carlson and helping U-M to its first team title of the season. Kim opened with a U-M career-best 70 (-1) and battled gusty winds to shoot 72 in the second round, finding himself tied with Carlson after regulation. Kim then got up and down for par on the first playoff hole to claim the individual trophy. [ Recap ]
• Kyle Mueller won his second career title after he was the only individual to shoot three sub-par rounds at the Windon Memorial Classic (Sept. 25-26). Using his length to his advantage, he played the par 5s at six under while recording 12 total birdies and an eagle. After back-to-back rounds of one-under 71, he was tied for seventh. Battling the gusty winds in the final round, he posted at 67 (-5) for the 78-player field’s only sub-70 round to cap his second career title by three shots at 209 (-7). [ Recap ]
• Winning the first hole of a playoff, Nick Carlson won U-M’s season-opening event — the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 19-20) played at the famed Inverness Club. With a final-round career-best 67, Carlson finished regulation with a career-best 209 (69-73-67, -4) and tied with Duke’s Jake Shuman (70-71-68). With a playoff needed to determine the overall medalist, Carlson stuck his approach to 15 feet for birdie and then tapped in for par on the opening hole, while Shuman missed right and bogeyed from 30 feet. [ Recap ]
CHIPS & PUTTS
• Michigan has a record of 72-32 overall and is 15-4 against the Big Ten this season.
• U-M is averaging a school-record pace of 288.35 per team round. The all-time mark was set last season (290.21, 2015-16).
• The Wolverines tallied a U-M-record 270 (-14) in the final round of the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 19-20). It topped the 272 (-12) set last season set in the first round of The MacKenzie in 2015.
• A Wolverine has won three stroke-play events — Nick Carlson at the Inverness Intercollegiate, Kyle Mueller at the Windon Memorial Classic and Ian Kim at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. Reed Hrynewich was the medalist runner-up at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
• With three individual titles and one runner-up, the Wolverines have garnered four Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors.
• Through nine events, Mueller (70.73) and Carlson (71.74) are close to resetting U-M’s all-time mark for scoring average, set by Mueller (71.72, 2015-16) last season.
THE MAIZE & BLUE RUN AT THE U.S. AMATEUR
Michigan had three players — Nick Carlson, Kyle Mueller and Tom Swanson — qualify and compete at the 2016 U.S. Amateur played at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Carlson, who earned the 41st seed for match play, was the lone Wolverine to advance out of match play and had a magical run to the Final Four.
After a 2-and-1 win over Zach Foshee (Oregon), Carlson faced No. 9 Scott Gregory (England). With the first of two 19-hole wins on the day, he took down Gregory and followed with a second extra-hole win over No. 8 K.K. Lambhaust (Cal) to reach the Elite Eight.
Trailing by two after nine holes to No. 33 seed Dylan Meyer (Illinois), a weather delay midway through the match helped Carlson refocus as he rallied to win five of the first six backside holes, which led to an eventual 3-and-1 victory. Facing Curtis Luck in the semifinal, Carlson held a 1-up lead through 17 holes before dropping the 18th hole, sending the match to extra holes. In a dramatic three extra holes, Carlson came up just short, losing 1-up to the eventual U.S. Amateur champ Luck. [ Reliving the U.S. Amateur | U-M at U.S. Amateur ]
UP NEXT
Sat-Sun., April 15-16 — at Boilermaker Invitational (West Lafayette, Ind.)
Fri-Sun., April 28-30 — at Big Ten Championships (Baltimore, Md.)
