Rutgers Men's Golf In Ohio For BIG10 Championship - Final Results And Who Rec'd NCAA Invites

[knightfan7]

Rutgers Men head to the 54 Hole B1G Championship Friday to Sunday at the Scioto CC in Columbus. The course held a Ryder Cup, US Open, and PGA in it's original design. Unlike last year where a nor'easter played havoc with the championship at Galloway National outside AC, shortening it to 36 holes, there should be good weather over the weekend.

The Course -

Original course designed by Donald Ross opened in 1916. It was replaced in the 60's by a more "modern" course. A couple remodels later the club said enough, and in 2021 brought in Andrew Green who had successfully brought back Oak Hill to it's former glory and is doing the same at East Lake. The course is now close to Ross's original design.

The course will be played as a 7,240 yard Par 70.

The Field -

For the past 15 years the tourney honestly could have been known as "Illinois and those other teams". The Illini have won 13 of the last 14 (no 2020 - Covid) championships. Minnesota broke the string in 2014. Illinois is once again the highest ranked team in the field at #18, an off year for them. They are followed by #28 Purdue, #36 OSU, #44 Northwestern, and #46 Indiana. At #88, Rutgers is the 8th ranked team, sandwiched between #84 Michigan and #90 Wisconsin. A team to watch may be #73 Michigan State. In late February they finished 9th and last in the Fords Invitational (RU was 8th) with a ranking of #98. Since then they have finished 2nd twice, 3rd twice, and 5th working their way to where another good finish might give them a chance at an NCAA at-large bid. A lot depends not only the B1G but conf championships around the country. The Top 5 I mentioned above should make it no matter the finish this weekend.

The Top Players -

The highest ranked player is Purdue's Herman Wibe Shenke at #38. Following him are 2 Illini, #50 Jackson Buchanan and #52 Max Hendereen, and from OSU, a name we heard a lot about as the low Am and the Butler Cabin interviewee at this year's Masters, #55 Neal Shipley.In all there are 8 players in the Top 75 out of almost 1900 who are ranked in D1. There are also several hundred who either didn't play enough or didn't accumulate enough points to be ranked. did At #290 Xavier Marcoux is Rutgers highest ranked golfer followed by #329 Luke Wells and #386 Rhett Sellers.

A Little History -

Over the past 3 years Rutgers has finished 8th in '21, 11th in '22, and 10th last year. Rutgers best finish was 6th in 2019 when 2 players, Chris Gotterup (4th) and Saylor Dance (9th), finished Top 10. It was one of Gotterup's 2 Top 6 finishes in the championship. From that year, Gotterup and champion Andrian Dumont de Chassart (Illinois) are currently competing (and struggling) on the PGA Tour. Some reconizable names who won B1G titles are Steve Stricker (Ill) three times, John Cook (OSU) and Luke Donald (NW) twice, and with 1, Jack Nicklaus (OSU), Thomas Detry (Ill), Thomas Pieters (Ill), and Joey Sindelar (OSU). That Nicklaus guy went on to win 2 or 3 NCAA Championships. Don't know whatever happened to him after that.

The official scorer for the Championship currently lists 6 players for each team. I am not aware if the format has changed from 5 players, top 4 scores count to 6 and 4. The women have been 6 and 4 in their championships since at least 2021. Either way RU will go with Xavier Marcoux, Luke Wells, Rhett Sellers, Weston Jones, and Martin Leon. If there is a 6th player, it would be Cranford's Frosh and former NJ #1 ranked Junior Golfer, Derek Gutierrez. If as usual, they pair strictly by ranking, RU would be along side Michigan and Wisconsin. Of course, will also know 5 or 6 when pairings are posted.

 

[knightfan7]

Waiting for a Dr Appt so looked this up. #88 Rutgers head to head record vs other B1G teams '23-'24

#18 Illinois............1-0
#28 Purdue..........1-1
#36 Ohio St.........0-0
#44 N'western....0-2
#46 Indiana.........3-2
#73 Mich St.........3-1
#84 Michigan.......1-2
#90 Wisconsin....0-1
#98 Minnesota....3-2
#109 Iowa.............2-0
#116 Penn State...4-1
#191 Maryland.....2-0

Overall 20-12. While confident in the records, I will doublecheck when I get back.

Per the NCAA, against all competition RU is 77-68-1. Taking away the B1G, their record is 57-56-1.

Did this quickly so I may have missed 1.

 

[knightfan7]

So here's the reason 6 players are listed. You are allowed to substitute a player after the tourney starts. Looking at this year's SEC Championship which started yesterday, 3 teams changed their lineup for the 2nd Round. Not all conferences do this but the vast majority, including all P5, do.

So the bottom line is you have 6 players but only 5 play at once with the top 4 scores counting. i either learned something, simply forgot, or was influenced by the Women's Championship going with 6 players, top 4 scores count. lol.

According to the pairings that were posted but now doesn't appear, Gutierrez will be Rutgers' substitute. The field is being split with 8 going off #1 and 6 off #10. It appears Rutgers will go off #1, paired with Michigan and Wisconsin starting with Martin Leon at 9:50.

 

[richthedentist]

So here's the reason 6 players are listed. You are allowed to substitute a player after the tourney starts. Looking at this year's SEC Championship which started yesterday, 3 teams changed their lineup for the 2nd Round. Not all conferences do this but the vast majority, including all P5, do.

So the bottom line is you have 6 players but only 5 play at once with the top 4 scores counting. i either learned something, simply forgot, or was influenced by the Women's Championship going with 6 players, top 4 scores count. lol.

According to the pairings that were posted but now doesn't appear, Gutierrez will be Rutgers' substitute. The field is being split with 8 going off #1 and 6 off #10. It appears Rutgers will go off #1, paired with Michigan and Wisconsin starting with Martin Leon at 9:50.

Just looked at live scoring about halfway through first round we are tied for 3rd at +3; lets keep it going!!

 

[knightfan7]

Just looked at live scoring about halfway through first round we are tied for 3rd at +3; lets keep it going!!

Yup. The thing you have to watch for is teams are not playing the holes in the same order so while scores are not as deceiving as shotgun starts, you still need to consider the course. If you want to get a better idea, look at the teams they're paired with or those who teed off right before. RU teed off on #1 so they've already been thru 3 of the toughest 4 holes to Par so far. Anyone who teed off on #10 still has 2-3 left to play. That 255 yard Par 3 on the back is a terror lol

 

[knightfan7]

Today the team started off really well, bouncing between 2nd and 3rd as they played the Back 9 then things went a bit south and RU finished 8th with a team +12, 292. Still, with 2 Rounds remaining they are right in it for a high finish with just 4 strokes separating 3rd and 8th.

In a 3 hole stretch (14-16), the 4 players whose score counted shot +6. Overall the round went with the chalk as 7 of the 8 highest ranked teams are in the Top 8 after 18. Only #84 Michigan is missing, standing 13th.

Xavier Marcoux (2 Birdies, 4 Bogeys) and Luke Wells (2 Birdies, 2 Bogeys, 1 Double) led the team with 2 Over 72's. They are currently T14. Weston Jones (T24) shot 73, Martin Leon (T40) a 75, and Rhett Sellers (T50) a 76.

Rutgers was 4th on Par 3 scoring (3.20), 5th on Par 4's (4.22) but tied for last on Par 5's (5.10)

Using the same 5 players tomorrow, Rutgers will be paired with Ohio State and Minnesota as the 1st groups off the 1st Tee.

1. Northwestern...........E
2, Michigan State.......+6
3. Purdue.....................+8
T4. Indiana..................+10
T4. Illinois
T4. Wisconsin
7. Ohio State...............+11
8. RUTGERS.................+12
9. Minnesota...............+13
T10. Iowa......................+14
T10. Penn State
12. Nebraska................+20
13. Michigan.................+25
14. Maryland................+27

Individually #374 August Meekoff (MSU) leads the field after a 3 Under 67. He is followed 1 stroke back by two from Northwestern, Daniel Svard and James Imai, and Minnesota's Ben Warian 2 back. Those were the only Under Par rounds out of 70 played.

 

[knightfan7]

Round 2 was not kind to Rutgers or most of the others, shooting a team +25, 305. Despite this the team actually moved up 1 place to 7th because a number of teams shot worse. There is now a 4 stroke margin between 6th Place Wisconsin and RU with teams who came in ranked well above RU taking the top 5 spots. There's also 3 teams breathing down their back.

Luke Wells led RU with a 4 Over 74, moving up 1 spot to T13th. After that, Rhett Sellers (T33) shot 75, Weston Jones (T27) 77, Martin Leon (T50) 79, and Xavier Marcoux (T39) an 80 after a very rough last 6 holes.

RU is 10th in Par 3 Average (3.55), 3rd on Par 4's (4.25), and 12th on Par 5's (5.05).

It looks like Illinois may not finish first for only the second time since 2008 as it appears to be a 2 team battle between Northwestern and the team I said to watch the other day, Michigan State.

Standings After Round 2

1. #44 Northwestern.............+14
2, #73 Michigan State...........+17
3. #18 Illinois.......................'...+26
4. #36 Ohio State..................+28
5. #28 Purdue.........................+29
6. #90 Wisconsin...................+33
7. #88 RUTGERS.....................+37
8. #115 Nebraska....................+38
9. #46 Indiana........................+39
10. #119 Penn State...............+40
11. #109 Iowa..........................+44
T12. #84 Michigan..................+49
T12. #98 Minnesota
14. #191 Maryland..................+53

Mich St's Ashton McCullough, after 2 rounds the only player not over Par, takes a 1 stroke lead over teammate and 1st Round leader, August Meekoff. 2 back are Jackson Buchanan (Ill) and James Imai (NW). OSU's Neal Shipley is among 3 players 3 back. McCullough and Shipley were the only players to shoot under par (-1) today.

3 teams used their substitutes today. None shot under 80. Rutgers lineup for tomorrow shows the same 5 as have played so far. RU will be in the 1st group, along with Nebraska and Indiana, off #1 at 8am. Teams 10-14 will start on #10.

 

[knightfan7]

So Round 3 had good news and bad news. First the bad news is they tied for the 4th worst round of the 14 teams. The good is they still finished in a 3-way tie for 7th, their 2nd best B1G Championship finish and only the 2nd time they've finished better than 10th since joining the conference.

Rutgers was led by Martin Leon shooting a +4, 74. Leon, Weston Jones (78), and Luke Wells (82) all shot +18 for the championship, finishing Tied for 33rd. Xavier Marcoux (77) and Rhett Sellers (78) Tied for 39th with +19's . I guess that's some kind of team consistency.

Rutgers finished 10th in Par 3 scoring, 5th on Par 4's, and 12th on Par 5's. individually, Xavier Marcoux finished T6 (3.25) on Par 3's, Rhett Sellers was T11 on Par 4's (4.11), and Weston Jones T13 (4.67) on Par 5's.

The team should finish as 8th in the B1G when the rankings are released this week.

Northwestern was never challenged today as they won the Championship by 15 strokes over Illinois. The team I had been pushing, Michigan State had their string of very positive play since the beginning of March end, tying Maryland for the worst 3rd round and finished 4th which may or may not be enough to receive an at-large invite to the NCAA Regionals.

Northwestern's Daniel Svard, the only player to have 2 sub par rounds won the Individual championship with a 3 round score of +1, winning by 1 stroke over Illinois' Jackson Buchanan. Notrhwestern's James Amai and Michigan State's Ashton McCullough were 4 strokes back back with Ohio State's Neal Shipley of Mastes fame, Michigan States' August Meekhof and Purdue's Herman Senke 6 back.

Final Standings

1. #44 Northwestern...........+23
2. #18 Illinois.........................+38
3. #28 Purdue.......................+46
4. #73 Michigan State.........+49
5. #36 Ohio State.................+50
6. #46 Indiana......................+62
T7. #88 RUTGERS.................+64
T7. #90 Wisconsin
T7. #115 Nebraska
T10. #84 Michigan................+67
T10 #116 Penn State
12. #109 Iowa.........................+69
13. #98 Minnesota................+73
14. #191 Maryland.................+94

Of the regular starters, This was the last RU tourney for Xavier Marcoux and Luke Wells. Rhett Sellers has the Covid year if he chooses. Martin Leon (2yrs at Utah, 1 at RU) and Weston Jones have 1. Seldom used Logan Paczewski has 2 and Derek Gutierrez and Andrew Reyes have 3. With 4 recruits arriving in August, I'd imagine more than Marcoux and Wells won't be returning.

The Men's team needs better depth because they don't have a Top 100 type player to pull the team along currently. They will be a young team so there a lot of time for the younger players to show they can lead.

 

[knightfan7]

If anyone is interested about future members, the PAC12 Championship in finishing their last 4-5 holes. Az St is running away with it. Washington is currently 4th, 24 strokes behind. Oregon is 5th, 26 behind. UCLA is 6th, 42 behind and USC is last, 78 Strokes behind.

 

[knightfan7]

So the B1G has 6 squads playing in the 6 NCAA Regionals as Michigan State, an 11 Seed, did squeak in to the field of 71 teams and 45 Individuals. Illinois is the highest B1G seed at #3 in the Stanford Regional. Northwestern and Purdue are 5 Seeds. Ohio State is a 6 Seed and Indiana an 8. 3 players from teams that weren't invited (Mich, Minn, and Wisc) were added to play for the individual title.

Next year the B1G will be able to say the conference had 9 teams make the '24 NCAA Regionals with Oregon, Washington, and UCLA also in this year's field. Who'd a thunk the B1G is a Golf conference 😁

After winning the Big East Title, #161 Seton Hall is a 13 Seed.

Rutgers Tie for 7th dropped them to #91 remaining 8th in the conference. #88 Michigan was 7th with #92 Wisconsin 9th. The Knights are once again the highest ranked team in the Northeast at the end of the regular season followed by #101 Princeton, #115 Penn State, #122 Drexel, and #129 Boston College. No Rutgers golfer finished in the top 300 nationally.

 

[bigmatt718]

So the B1G has 6 squads playing in the 6 NCAA Regionals as Michigan State, an 11 Seed, did squeak in to the field of 71 teams and 45 Individuals. Illinois is the highest B1G seed at #3 in the Stanford Regional. Northwestern and Purdue are 5 Seeds. Ohio State is a 6 Seed and Indiana an 8. 3 players from teams that weren't invited (Mich, Minn, and Wisc) were added to play for the individual title.

Next year the B1G will be able to say the conference had 9 teams make the '24 NCAA Regionals with Oregon, Washington, and UCLA also in this year's field. Who'd a thunk the B1G is a Golf conference 😁

After winning the Big East Title, #161 Seton Hall is a 13 Seed.

Rutgers Tie for 7th dropped them to #91 remaining 8th in the conference. #88 Michigan was 7th with #92 Wisconsin 9th. The Knights are once again the highest ranked team in the Northeast followed by #101 Princeton, #115 Penn State, #122 Drexel, and #129 Boston College. No Rutgers golfer finished in the top 300 nationally.

With the 4 incoming Pac-12 schools coming in, I'd have to imagine that'll help us in recruiting in sports like golf, tennis, volleyball, baseball, softball, etc. We can recruit California harder now in those sports. Everyone talks about how that USC/UCLA/Oregon/Washington helps the conference in football. They don't talk much about how it will also strengthen many Olympic sports in the B1G as well, particularly the ones the B1G struggles in the spring like golf, baseball, and softball.

 

[knightfan7]

With the 4 incoming Pac-12 schools coming in, I'd have to imagine that'll help us in recruiting in sports like golf, tennis, volleyball, baseball, softball, etc. We can recruit California harder now in those sports. Everyone talks about how that USC/UCLA/Oregon/Washington helps the conference in football. They don't talk much about how it will also strengthen many Olympic sports in the B1G as well, particularly the ones the B1G struggles in the spring like golf, baseball, and softball.

Agree. The Olympic Sports are going to be a lot tougher. In Men's Golf 8 teams are in this year's Top 50. On the Women's side, it's 10 including 3 (UCLA, USC, and Northwestern) of the Top 8.