Men's Golf Finishes Fall Schedule Ranked 39th
11/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 17, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's golf team finished its five-tournament fall schedule ranked 39th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and is in position to compete for its fourth NCAA regional appearance in six years. The Spartans recorded fourth-place finishes at the Windon Memorial and the Gopher Invitational, and posted an 8-4 record against Big Ten opponents.
"I felt like we had some opportunities to step up and win a couple of our later tournaments, but I think we improved throughout the fall," said eighth-year head coach Mark Hankins. "Finishing 11th at our first tournament was a wake up call, and we continually improved."
The fall season featured balance and consistency, as four different players posted the low Spartan tournament score and five players played in at least four tournaments. Senior Matt Harmon, junior Ryan Brehm, and sophomore Randy Hutchison competed in all five tournaments, while sophomore Grant Tungate and freshman Jack Newman each made four tournament appearances. Sophomore Steve Cuzzort competed in two events and completed MSU's fall rotation.
Harmon carded a pair of top-five finishes, led the team with a 74.60 scoring average, and was the only player to lead the Spartans twice. With fourth-place finishes at the Gopher Invitational and the Windon Memorial, Harmon has registered 11 top-five finishes in his career.
Brehm carded a pair of top-10 finishes to start the season, posting a ninth-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate and a 10th-place finish at the Gopher Invitational. He ended the fall season with the team's second-lowest scoring average (75.27) and leads the team with four rounds of par or better.
Hutchison finished the fall strong with a 15th-place finish at the Windon Memorial and a team-leading 11th-place finish at the Big Ten/Pac 10 Challenge. His 76.20 scoring average is third best on the team, and his score counted towards the team score 90 percent of the time, the second-highest percentage on the team.
"Those three (Harmon, Brehm and Hutchison) were the definite leaders," Hankins said. "Their consistency gave us opportunities to play well, and it was nice to see Randy play consistently and mature."
Tungate, Newman and Cuzzort combined to make 10 tournament appearances in the fall. Tungate posted his first career top-20 finish at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate and led the Spartans for the second time in his career, while Newman posted his first collegiate sub-par round at the Gopher Invitational en route to a 23rd-place finish. Cuzzort finished 37th at the Windon Memorial and helped the Spartans record a fourth-place finish.
"Jack competed well in practice to qualify for the trips," Hankins said. "We played three courses ranked in the top 50 in the country, so he gained a lot of experience on great golf courses."
The Spartans open their spring schedule with the Arizona Dual Match on Feb. 17, 2007, at the Scottsdale Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
