Feb. 28, 2012
Site: West Lake Village, Calif.
Course: North Ranch Country Club (par 70, 6,728 yards)
Tournament: North Ranch Collegiate
U-M Team Standing: 9th Place of 14 Teams (307-304-295/906)
Top U-M Individual: Noori Hyun, tie-23rd (76-79-60/224)
Next Event: Fri-Sun., March 16-18 -- at Furman Intercollegiate (Greenville, S.C.)
WEST LAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- Highlighted by a final round career-best one-under 69 from freshman Noori Hyun (Seoul, Korea/Centreville HS [Va.], the University of Michigan men's golf team posted a final-round 295 today (Tuesday, Feb. 28) to close ninth at Pepperdine's North Ranch Collegiate with a 906 event total at the North Ranch Country Club.
With strong winds and rainy conditions hampering play during yesterday's (Monday, Feb. 27) first 36 holes, the Wolverines opened with team tallies of 307 and 304, putting them ninth after the first day. Following a near two-and-a-half hour frost delay, sunny skies emerged for the final 18 holes as the Wolverines battled six other teams for a top-five finish with just four shots separating a fifth- to 10th-place finish.
For the second straight tournament, Hyun was red hot in the final round as he posted a career-best one-under 69, while junior Miguel Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia/The Columbus School) carded a two-over 72.
Finishing as the top Wolverine for the first time in his collegiate career, Hyun used his career-best round of 69 to move up 17 positions and tie his career-best finish, 24th, at 224 (76-79-69). Senior Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) was just a stroke behind as he tallied a 225 after a 77 and back-to-back 74s. Echavarria rounded out the top three Wolverines, tying for 30th at 227 (80-75-72).
Other Wolverines finishes included junior Matt Alessi (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) tying for 52nd at 236 (74-82-80) and junior Jack Schultz (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS) finishing 72nd at 252 (84-76-92).
The Wolverines will head to Carefree, Ariz., for the remainder of the week to practice during U-M's spring break period. The Wolverines are scheduled to play at Whisper Rock and Chiricahua before heading back to Michigan. During the week, U-M will meet up with athletic director Dave Brandon to play and practice.
U-M's next scheduled tournament will not be until mid-March when the Wolverines head to Greenville, S.C., Friday through Sunday (March 16-18) for the Furman Intercollegiate. The 54-hole event will be played at the Furman University Golf Course.
Final Team Standings
1. San Diego State 281-292-291 = 864
2. San Diego 284-294-291 = 869
3. New Mexico 289-295-289 = 873
4. Pacific 297-302-300 = 899
5. Brigham Young 303-303-297 = 903
Charlotte 297-308-298 = 903
7. Pepperdine 289-308-307 = 904
8. Loyola Marymount 305-308-292 = 905
9. MICHIGAN 307-304-295 = 906
10. Fresno State 296-308-303 = 907
11. Arizona State 302-310-300 = 912
12. UC Santa Barbara 299-312-302 = 913
13. UC Irvine 315-314-300 = 929
14. CSU Northridge 315-326-305 = 946
Top Individuals
1. Matt Hoffenberg, San Diego State 66-73-73 = 212 (+2)
2. Alex Kang, San Diego State 67-72-75 = 214
3. J.J. Spaun, San Diego State 74-71-70 = 215
4. Josh Anderson, Pepperdine 69-72-75 = 216
Bryan Bergna, Loyola Marymount 70-75-71 = 216
6. Zachary Blair, Brigham Young 71-75-71 = 217
7. John Catlin, New Mexico 76-73-69 = 218
Justin Keiley, Brigham Young 76-73-69 = 218
Victor Perez, New Mexico 74-72-72 = 218
Sean Romero, New Mexico 72-72-74 = 218
Linus Vaisanen, San Diego 74-75-69 = 218
Michigan Individuals
T23. Noori Hyun 76-79-69 = 224
T26. Matt Thompson 77-74-74 = 225
T30. Miguel Echavarria 80-75-72 = 227
T52. Matt Alessi 74-82-80 = 236
72. Jack Schultz 84-76-92 = 252
N O T E S
• Noori Hyun set a new career-best with his one-under 69 in the final round. It marks the first time in his collegiate career he has broken the 70-stroke barrier. Hyun topped his prior best of one-under 71 at the Puerto Rico Classic (final round) and even-par 71 at the Wolverine Intercollegiate (first round).
• Matt Thompson, Miguel Echavarria, Matt Alessi and Jack Schultz have started all eight events this season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On the North Ranch Collegiate ... "The guys had some better momentum today. We really started today's round off well and it was great to see Noori (Hyun) be able to carry that through to the end. I was really proud of him and of the improvements he has continued to show. Really for three of our guys to finish among the top 30 of this event makes this a real solid effort I thought. We need more help in addition to those guys so when one of those guys is a little bit off someone can step in and pick up the slack. I think our decision making is getting better. Some of the guys are really improving their confidence and making a lot of good swings. We are really looking forward to heading to Arizona and getting four full days of practice in. Just getting repetitions in will be very good for us. We definitely want and need to finish higher, however, we are going to control the things we are able to control and that is our own games. We are going in the right direction and we are due for a really nice round in our next tournament."
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
