[ad_1]
Senior Yuqi Liu and the Michigan men’s golf team started slow. In 4th place after Day 1 of the Virtues Intercollegiate Tournament, the Wolverines and Liu needed a strong Day 2 to reach the heights they wanted.
Safe to say, they both delivered, as Michigan ultimately secured the championship over its 13 opponents.
However, slow starts on Friday have been a recurring problem for this team. The Wolverines have consistently fallen behind in Round 1, putting them in a dire position for the later rounds. In five tournaments this fall, Michigan has played its worst golf of the weekend in the opening round every time.
“It seems to take this team a little too long to settle in,” Wolverines coach Zach Barlow said. “I hope they can build on this week and show up at these future tournaments on hole one, ready to go.”
Following the trend, Michigan fired off a cool five-under-par in Round 1 on Friday, a score that would’ve landed it outside the podium had the tournament been only one day. Thankfully for the Wolverines, the tournament was a two-day, 36-hole event, and they got to play on Saturday for the championship. Michigan capitalized on this opportunity, notching a 12-under-par team total on the day and producing multiple top individual performances.
Not only did the Wolverines take home the team championship with a 17-under total score, but their top individual, Liu, took home medalist honors for the lowest scoring individual at seven-under-par. This accomplishment isn’t new to Liu, as he left last year’s Virtues Intercollegiate with the same title of top individual. A repeat champion is hard to come by in any level of golf, but Liu defied the odds.
“It’s very tough to follow up a win with another win on the same course,” Barlow said. “Once Yuqi gets the ball in play, he’s one of the best college golfers out there. He’s really a prime-time player.”
Liu stepped up when Michigan needed it, carding his season-low 68 and his first tournament under par this year. The veterans Liu and senior Hunter Thomson set the pace for the Wolverines, with Thomson recording a five-under-par score on the weekend.
On the other side of the experience gradient, Michigan rounded out its top five with contributions from freshmen RJ Arone, Dean Muratore and redshirt freshman Caden Pinckes.
Pinckes followed the trend of the team, shooting a five-over 77 in round one, but a career low 68 in Round 2
The Wolverines have an extreme variety of experience and inexperience on the course, playing four freshmen and four seniors or graduates. This youth movement that Barlow is bringing to the team has its moments of brilliance but also contributes to the slow starts that come with inexperience.
“We had some freshman mistakes and unfortunately, in golf you have to learn the hard way, but they’re definitely happening less and less, I’ll say that,” Barlow said. “I’m excited that we’ve gotten better every week … we’re going to continue to get better as the year goes on.”
Round 1 was certainly a disappointing result, but the tide changed in Round 2. Six of the eight competing Wolverines carded a lower score on the second day, resulting in their championship. Those Day 1 mistakes dwindled, and multiple golfers performed their most impressive round of the season thus far.
Overall, the team took four out of the top seven spots on the individual leaderboard, a good recipe for success to win tournaments.
“This team, they’re coming into their own,” Barlow said. “We’re going to surprise some people.”
Michigan proved its ability to play itself into the lead, but the next step is taking the lead from the start. If this weekend showed anything, it’s clear the Wolverines have the veteran-freshmen combination, talent and comeback gene to contend for more than one trophy this season.
Related articles
[ad_2]
Source link
