Men's golf finishes season; Harris on top

When Mike Harris arrived in beautiful Hawaii, hula dancers were not the only thing that caught his eye. Seeing a chance to take medalist honors this past week also looked very appealing - even if it lacked a golden tan and a swaying grass skirt.

"The golf team's trip to Hawaii was great - I waited five years for it," Harris, the team captain, said. "I just worked hard and played well all week."

The Michigan men's golf team took a long awaited break from the bleak midwest this week and journeyed to the Aloha State. Its schedule included two tournaments, the Stan Sheriff Invitational and the Mauna Kea Resort Invitational.

The highlight of the week was Harris' performance at the two tournaments, taking top honors at the Stan Sheriff and tying for first at the Mauna Kea.

"Harris is just phenomenal," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "I want to adopt him. He is something else.

"He has meant so much to this team. He brought home another trophy this weekend. I'm worried that we're going to run out of space in the display cabinet."

On Monday and Tuesday, the Stan Sheriff Invitational was played at Ko'olau Golf Club, in the hills outside of Honolulu. Settled in the rainforest, the course was a wet, soggy mess.

"The course touts itself as the toughest links in the country, and they're probably right," Carras said. "If you hit the ball off the fairway, you might as well not even go to look for it. The mud sucks it right up."

Eleven teams competed in the three round tournament. West Florida took first place with a top score of 901, followed by Hawaii with a 918. Michigan finished third with a 929.

"The scores do not represent the talent," Carras said. "The course played so hard - it made great shots look bad and good scores look high. Finishing third is a credit for all the kids."

After a day break, the Wolverines continued play Thursday at the Mauna Kea Resort Invitational, at Hapuna Golf Club on the Big Island.

Aside from a 30-mile-per-hour wind, the course was beautiful, Carras said. Again, the tournament consisted of 11 teams and three rounds. It was truly a sweep for the Big Ten, with Minnesota taking top honors with a 898, Indiana with a 904, Purdue with a 905, and Michigan finishing fourth with a team score of 906.

"We made quite a comeback at Mauna Kea - it was a hell of a last round," Carras said. "We began in eighth place, but by the end of it we moved up to fourth.

"Scott Hayes came through at this tournament, finishing fourth. He and Harris were important in our win."

Although finishing with respectable scores at both tournaments, Carras feels the team still isn't playing to par.

"We didn't play that bad," Carras said. "But I felt that if we could have had lower scores out of the entire team, we would have been much more competitive.

"We seem to start off with high rounds and play catch-up the rest of the tournament. You can't expect to beat the top teams playing with this method."

Hawaii was the Wolverines' last tournament of the fall season.

"Not all of our guys played as well as they should," Harris said. "We just need to solidify. We'll be fine. I'm really looking forward to spring."

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