HARRIS, Mich.---Just hours after the University of Michigan football team pulled out a miracle last second (literally) win over Western Michigan, the Wolverines men's golf team was here in the Upper Peninsula Sunday morning for the Island Resort Collegiate.
And the Wolverines scorched the Sage Run course near Bark River by shooting a sizzling 29-under par after 36 holes in the 54-hole tournament.
Michigan has a whopping 19-stroke lead over defending champion West Virginia heading into Monday's final 18 holes.
There are three golfers tied for the lead at 11-under par, including Michigan's RJ Arone. Also at 11-under are Marquette University's Vinny Cervantes and Samuel Baumuller from California's St. Mary's University.
Another Wolverine, Spencer Shropshire, is three strokes back at 8-under par and has sole possession of fourth place. There are a total of four Michigan Wolverines in the top ten on the leaderboard, all of them shooting under par.
West Virginia's Nicholas Turowski is in fifth place at seven under par.
On the team scoreboard, North Texas and Marquette are tied for third place at 9-under par, and Central Florida sits in fifth place at 8-under.
There are 12 NCAA Division One schools at this tournament, which has been hosted by South Dakota State University here in the UP for seven years.
The tournament was started by UP native Casey VanDamme, who coached at SDSU and now coaches women's golf at Kent State.
Monday's final round starts at 7:30 in the morning Eastern time. There is no admission charge for people to come watch. More stories at bottom of this page.
ISLAND RESORT TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Michigan 547 (-29)
2. West Virginia 566 (-10)
3. North Texas 567 (-9)
3. Marquette 567 (-9)
5. Central F,lorida 568 (-8)
6. St. Mary's (Calif.) 571 (-5)
7. Kansas City 577 (+1)
8. Ball State 579 (+3)
9. Miami (Ohio) 581 (+5)
9. South Dakota State 581 (+5)
11. Boise State 583 (+7)
12. Virginia Commonwealth 586 (+10)
STORY COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Michigan carded rounds of 274 (-14) and 273 (-15) to build a 19-shot lead after 36 holes at the Island Resort Intercollegiate.
The Wolverines' 547 (-29) total leads the 12-team field heading into Monday's final round.
RJ Arone (pictured above, courtesy UM photography) played bogey-free golf over his first 32 holes and shares the individual lead at 133 (-11) after rounds of 66 and 67. In three career appearances at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, he has posted six straight sub-par rounds -- including three straight in the 60s -- and has yet to record an over-par score in eight career rounds.
Spencer Shropshire is fourth at 136 (-8) after rounds of 69 and 67, while Dean Muratore (69-70) and Nilay Naik (70-69) are tied for seventh at 139 (-5). U-M's starting five combined for eight sub-par rounds Sunday.
With two more sub-par team rounds, Michigan has opened the fall with five straight. The Wolverines are averaging 275.60 per round and are a combined 62-under par through five rounds.
STORY COURTESY OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
West Virginia University junior golfer Nick Turowski shot 7-under-par on Sunday to help put the Mountaineers in second place after one day of competition at the Island Resort Collegiate at Sage Run Golf Club in Bark River, Michigan.
Turowski (pictured below, courtesy WVU Athletics) shot rounds of 70-67 and is in fifth place individually, four shots off the lead heading into Monday's final round.
As a team, the Mountaineers are in second place at 10-under-par, shooting 2-under-par in the first round and 8-under-par in the second round. WVU leads North Texas and Marquette by one stroke while Michigan leads at -29 in the 12-team field.
Junior Ryan Leach is tied for 13 place at 3-under-par with rounds of 68-73. Sophomore Jack Michael is tied for 17 place at -2 after shooting 74-68. Junior Aidan Dortch is +2 after posting rounds of 74-72. Sophomore Gabe Schmitz is +8 with rounds of 76-76.
Freshman Michael Silvers is competing as an individual and is +1 with rounds of 71-74.
The final round will begin with tee times on Monday morning starting at 7:30 a.m.
