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Hinton's strong performance leads golfers; rest of squad battles inconsistency

The Michigan men's golf team returned to Ann Arbor with a familiar refrain: The more things change, the more they stay the same. One golfer shot well, but the team struggled.

The Wolverines finished ninth in the 18-team Marshall Invitational in Huntington, W.Va. Michigan had hoped to play its way into the top five of a tournament for the first time this season. However, the Wolverines were unable to battle through the unseasonably cold weather. For the third time this spring, the team's performance resembled the weather -- stormy and inconsistent.

Big Ten rival Ohio State won the team event with a spectacular three-round total of 868. Miami (Ohio) finished 21 strokes behind the Buckeyes. The Wolverines will compete against both Ohio State and Miami for the rest of the season. The Wolverines' 917 total shows how much they need to improve.

"Ohio State is a very, very good team and Miami (Ohio) is very strong," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "We need to start playing better if we are going to be competitive."

As in all of the Wolverines' weekends this spring, there has been a bright spot, in this case the play of sophomore Keith Hinton. Hinton posted the best 54-hole score of his career with a four-over-par 220. Hinton finished seventh in the meet, leading to his first collegiate medal.

"Keith was the least experienced player that we brought with us this weekend," Carras said. "His strong play was encouraging."

Aside from Hinton, the rest of the Wolverines were inconsistent at best.

Junior Kyle Dobbs shot a 73 in the second of the three-round competition. Dobbs could not maintain his form, however, evidenced by his 79 and 76 performances in the first and third rounds, respectively.

"Kyle Dobbs was reasonably good," Carras said. "But he needs to start putting those types of rounds together. Unfortunately, we had young men shooting rounds in the 80s. We can't have that if we are going to be competitive."

Hinton was not the only Wolverine making strides this weekend. Freshman Isaac Hinkle played well at times, but he had his troubles. His three-round total of 232 was six strokes above his season and career-best.

Carras's lineup changes did not work out as well as he had hoped. Junior Brent Idalski's three-round score of 242 was six shots worse than his best finish of the year. The left-hander struggled with three rounds in the 80s.

Senior captain Chris Brockway's return was marked by the same difficulties that have hindered him all year. His 239 placed him fourth among his teammates.

The loss of top player David Jasper hurt the Wolverines. The junior has been the most consistent golfer on the team and would have played in the No. 1 slot.

Jasper figures to be back for the Legends of Indiana tournament in Franklin, Ind. this weekend.