Men's golf struggles in Kentucky

Hoping to improve on a subpar performance at the Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate, the Michigan men's golf team traveled to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the 20-team Kentucky Invitational. This weekend was not much better for the Wolverines though, as the they placed an underachieving twelfth.

Fighting through windy, rainy conditions that were less than ideal for golf, the competitors in the Kentucky Invitational played 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday.

Toledo won the tournament for the second straight year by posting a team score of 871-17 shots ahead of second-place Notre Dame. Michigan's team total of 912 was not even within sight of the leaders.

"I'm more than disappointed right now," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "We're allowing teams that are not as good as us to beat us."

Carras has been searching for a couple players to step up and solidify a spot in the lineup. Mike Harris, Keith Hinton and Kevin Vernick have given Michigan consistent play this year, but no one else has really emerged.

With usual starter Kevin Vernick missing this weekend's event to attend a family wedding, the Wolverines' lack of consistency and depth was definitely exposed.

Still, Mike Harris completed another solid tournament by placing fourth overall with a 54-hole total of 218 (70-76-72).

Keith Hinton also cracked the top 10, carding a 221 (77-71-73), which earned them a 10th-place finish. But Harris and Hinton had to look far down the leader board to see any of their teammates' scores.

Mike Reabe posted a 240 (80-77-83) while Kevin Harris shot a 242 (83-76-83), and Mike Affeldt finished with a total of 244 (78-87-79). But none of those scores were good enough to finish among the top 80 golfers in the field.

"It's discouraging to have two guys shoot really well and still struggle as a team," Carras said. "The absence of Vernick hurt us because it meant one more guy had to play well."

Michigan is now in a position where it must post some impressive numbers over the next few weeks if it is to qualify for the NCAA Regionals that start on May 14. The Wolverines' first test will be next weekend when they head for Huntington, W.Va. to do battle in the Marshall Invitational.

04-06-98