Men's Golf Travels to Toledo for Inverness Intercollegiate
9/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 18, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - After beginning the season overseas as one of four American representatives at the Topy Cup in Japan, the Michigan State men's golf team returns stateside for the Inverness Intercollegiate on Sept. 19-20, held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Founded in 1903, the Inverness Club has hosted numerous prestigious tournaments, including four U.S. Opens, one U.S. Amateur, the 1986 and 1993 PGA Championships and the 2003 U.S. Senior Open.
The 15-team field is highlighted by two Big Ten foes, five Midwest District opponents, and five teams ranked in Golfweek's preseason top 30: No. 3 Florida, No. 7 USC, No. 15 Texas, No. 23 Coastal Carolina, and No. 30 Michigan State. Kentucky returns to defend its 2004 title, while Toledo, Illinois, Kent State, Navy, Nebraska, Ohio State, TCU, UCF, and Vanderbilt complete the field.
The Spartans travel to Toledo after opening the season with a top-three finish for the fourth straight year. In addition, Michigan State returns to the 7,225-yard, par 71 Inverness Club after finishing second in this event a year ago, one shot shy of Kentucky's 885 total.
Junior Matt Harmon (Grand Rapids, Mich.) leads the Spartans after finishing tied for fourth at last week's Topy Cup. Harmon tallied a final-round 69, the team's low score for the week, to propel him to the top-five finish.
A trio of sophomores supported Harmon with top-20 finishes of their own, as Nathan Gunthorpe (Ovid, Mich.), Brandon Cigna (Novi, Mich.), and Ryan Brehm (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) helped lead the team to the day's lowest team score in both the second and third rounds. Gunthorpe finished in a tie for 16th and earned his second-career top 20, while Cigna and Brehm tied for 18th. Freshman Randy Hutchison (Traverse City, Mich.) rounds out the lineup and will make his first appearance as a Spartan this week.
The tournament's first 36 holes will begin on Monday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun, while the final round will be played on Tuesday, starting with an 8 a.m. shotgun.
Players Mentioned
