After their fourth-place finish at the Kroger Intercollegiate, yesterday, in Memphis, Tenn., the Wolverines couldn't help but think the tournament was very similar to one they played in just a week ago.
At their own Wolverine Invitaational, the Michigan men's golf team occupied the top spot after the first two rounds - yesterday, it was on top again. But unlike last weekend, the Wolverines couldn't hag on to win, finishing three spots behind team leader, Auburn
"This was the toughest tournament that we have had this year by far," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "We accomplished every goal that we had for the tournament except winning it. I cannot say enough good things about our effort."
Despite the strong effort, however, Michigan could not sustain its lead on the final day. Michigan shot a solid 299, but that was not enough to maintain the lead with three top 25 teams giving chase. The Wolverines finished the tournament with an impressive fourth-place finish.
Although Michigan placed fourth for the tournament, it did walk away with something to remember from the two-day event.
The Kroger Intercollegiate invites nine teams from the Northern half of the United States and nine from the South. The lowest-scoring team from the North takes home the Blue-Gray cup. This year it was claimed by the Wolverines.
"It is really a beautiful trophy, but I don't know where we are going to put it. It's really too big," Carras said.
Michigan's Monday was highlighted when the team shot the low round of the tournament in the day's second round. Its amazing one-under par team score of 287 propelled the team into a tie with eventual tournament champion, Auburn.
The Tigers outdistanced the field by four strokes with a three-round total of 870. Mississippi State hung on to second with Georgia, Michigan and Nebraska, rounding out the top five teams.
Taking individual honors was Mississippi State's Chad Wellhausen. Wellhausen's five-under 211 was highlighted by his tournament-low 66 in the second round. That round enabled him to edge Reid Edstrom of Auburn, who fired a 212. Close behind them were Michigan's David Jasper and Ball State's Jamie Broce, who both shot two-under par 214s.
While the third-place finish was not a career-best for Jasper, the senior did set two career lows in Memphis. Jasper's first round 70 was a career-low. He followed the two-under par round with two consecutive even-par rounds. Jasper's three-round total of 214 was also a career-best.
Joining Jasper in the top 10 was senior Brent Idalski. Idalski finished in a tie for 10th by shooting rounds of 73, 71 and 76 to finish with a 220. His score was his best 54-hole total of the season. His 10th-place finish was also his season best. Michigan has now had at least two golfers in the top 10 in each of the past two tournaments.
Senior Kyle Dobbs and redshirt freshman Michael Harris were close behind Idalski. Both shot 222s to finish in a tie for 16th with three other golfers. Dobbs' 71 in the second round tied him with Idalski for the team lead for the round.
Harris continued his consistent play with 73s in the first two rounds and a 76 in the third. The 222 was a three-stroke improvement upon his 225 last weekend and his best 54-hole total of the year.
Junior Isaac Hinkle followed a remarkable second-place finish last weekend with a respectable 25th-place tie. His 225 allowed Michigan to place all five of its golfers in the top 25 finishers for the second tournament in a row.
This fall season has been a vast improvement over last year for the Wolverines. Last autumn, Michigan was only able to finish in the top five once, which was a fifth-place showing at the PGA Invitational in Palm Beach, Fla. This season the Wolverines have been in the top five in three out of the four tournaments that they have completed, including their first tournament victory in two years at last weekend's Wolverine Invitational.
Michigan now is off for about a month. The Wolverines travel to Palo Alto, Calif. for the Stanford Invitational Nov.8-10.