University of Michigan Men have five academic All-Americans – Read below USGA Story
By Jonathan Coe
Under the mostly cloudy and occasionally rainy skies, one particular match was more than just a blip on the radar. In a test of endurance on the famed South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club, Trevor Gutschewski and Rich Wills battled for 23 grueling holes on “The Monster.”
Gutschewski, a Florida Gators commit, chomped his way to an early lead with three birdies, building a 4 up lead through eight holes against Wills, a future Clemson Tiger. Wills quickly fought his way back and finally evened the match with a clutch par save on 18 to force extra holes.
“He [Rich Wills] hit a ton of good shots on the back nine and brought himself back in it,” said Gutschewski. “I hit a bad drive in the bunker on 18 and made bogey, so we went to extra holes. I just figured, ‘win the next hole and you’re done.’”
On the 19th hole, Gutschewski was faced with his first of two do-or-die putts. With Wills in close after a flagged approach shot, Gutschewski stared down a 30-footer from off the green and drained it. Then on the 22nd hole, Wills stepped up and poured in a 15-footer for birdie, yet again putting the pressure solely on Gutschewski. The Omaha, Neb. native delivered, curling in a putt just inches inside Wills’ to keep himself afloat.
“I was just trying to stay in the moment and make it to the next hole,” said Gutschewski. “It’s always nice to see those drop and to know you’re still alive.”
Overall, the pair tied three of the first four extra holes with birdies, before Gutschewski closed out the match with a par on the 5th hole. The son of PGA Tour player Scott Gutschewski, Trevor will face medalist Blades Brown in tomorrow’s Round of 32.
“It feels good right now,” said Gutschewski. “It didn’t feel very great on the back nine, but it’s always good to come away with the win regardless.”
The top-seeded Brown was able to pull away from No. 64 Alex Huang to advance. In a match that didn’t see more than a 1 up lead until the 14th hole, Brown turned on the jets down the stretch to secure a 3 and 2 victory.
“[Alex] was hitting fairways and applying pressure on me,” said Brown. “He was doing what he was supposed to be doing, and I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing. Then the back nine I turned it on a little bit, got some momentum and flew with it.
Floridian Miles Russell, the 2023 AJGA Player of the Year, was up big when his opponent conceded their Round-of-64 match after 10 holes. (USGA/Logan Whitton)
On Tuesday, Brown joined only Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett in having secured medalist honors at both the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur. Brown earned his U.S. Amateur medalist position last summer at Cherry Hills Country Club in suburban Denver, Colo.
Miles Russell, who became the youngest golfer ever to make a cut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, took care of business with a conceded victory over Hamilton Coleman of Martinez, Ga. Russell was 5 up through 10 holes when Coleman retired due to a back injury. The U.S. National Junior Team member also made his first PGA Tour start last month at the nearby Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“It’s a good match play course. There are a lot of birdies to be made, you just need to be careful,” said Russell. “I don’t know what the weather looks like the rest of the week, but if there’s no rain, I think it can get a little crispy and it can get fun.”
Luke Colton, who came into his second U.S. Junior Amateur with seven top-five finishes this year, including wins in the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Terra Cotta Invitational, jumped out to a 4 up lead through the turn on University of Notre Dame commit Pavel Tsar.
“I was playing really smart golf,” said Colton, about his front nine lead. “I was putting it in play and giving myself a few birdie putts and making them. Just knowing when to play aggressive and when to put it in the middle of the green was important.”
However, the future Golden Domer hung tough and fought throughout the back nine, eventually forcing extra holes with a par on the 18th. Colton was able to eventually close the door with a birdie on the 20th hole.
“I’m just kind of overwhelmed right now,” said Colton. “I had a few chances to win out there, but I was able to pull it together down the stretch. I’m just glad I was able to come out with the victory.”
Joshua Bai, last year’s runner-up, was able to outlast Brayden Miller, 3 and 2. Bai jumped out to a 2 up lead after two holes and never trailed for the duration of the match.
Blades Brown avoided being the first U.S. Junior Amateur medalist to fall in the Round of 64 in 22 years with a 3-and-2 win on Wednesday. (USGA/Logan Whitton)
What’s Next
The Round of 32 will take place on Thursday at 7 a.m. EDT, followed by the Round of 16 at 1 p.m. Friday’s quarterfinal matches are scheduled for 7 a.m., with the semifinals to follow at noon. The 36-hole final on Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. Peacock will stream the semifinals and afternoon portion of the championship match with Golf Channel re-airing the broadcast on tape delay. Steve Burkowski will anchor the broadcast. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend. Fan information can be found at usga.org.
Notable
- The No. 1 seed (Brown) in the U.S. Junior Amateur won a first-round match for the 21st consecutive time. The last time the top seed lost was in 2002 when Jarred Texter fell to Shane Sigsbee, 2 up, at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course.
- The 13-for-9 playoff for the final spots in the match-play draw lasted one hole and less than an hour. Alex Huang, from Plano, Texas, garnered the 64th and final spot. Jaxon Bandelier nearly aced his tee shot, leaving himself an 8-inch tap-in birdie. The playoff was conducted on the North Course’s par-3 10th hole.
- 12 players reached match play in both 2023 & 2024 – Kihei Akina, Joshua Bai, Jake Birdwell, Luke Colton, Edan Cui, Billy Davis, Gerardo Gomez, Henry Guan, Chase Kyes, Jay Leng Jr., Brooks Simmons and Tyler Watts.
- Fifteen countries were represented in the match bracket. They are: United States of America (45), People’s Republic of China (4), France (2), New Zealand (2), Australia (1), Canada (1), Chinese Taipei (1), Czech Republic (1), Hong Kong China (1), Mexico (1), Republic of Ireland (1), Republic of Korea (1), Ukraine (1), Vietnam (1), Wales (1). The average age was 16.92.
- Lev Grinberg, who advanced with a 6 and 5 victory over Hsuan-Yi Chen, carded an albatross on the par-5 12th hole by holing a 5-iron from 242 yards. It is the second double-eagle in U.S. Junior Amateur championship history (Travis Vick, eighth hole, 2018, Baltusrol – Upper).
- Billy Davis, fresh off a semifinal run last year at Daniel Island Club, beat Zack Swanwick, 4 and 3, to advance. Davis, who will join his twin sister, Anna, at Auburn University in the fall, Monday-qualified for the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico last November where he made his PGA Tour debut.
UM Places Multiple Golfers on All-American Academic Team
NORMAN, Okla. — University of Michigan men’s golfers Will Anderson, Ben Hoagland, Jude Kim, Yuqi Liu and Hunter Thomson were named Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Thursday (July 25).
With his third recognition, Anderson is the first Wolverine to earn three GCAA citations, while Hoagland, Kim, Liu and Thomson earn their second straight honor. With this accolade, Anderson and Thomson received four academic honors this season, including Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten and U-M Athletic Academic Achievement.
Nearly 531 Division I golfers from 180 teams were recognized by the GCAA. Michigan was one of 24 Division I teams with at least five golfers receiving the scholar award.
A sport management graduate, Anderson closed his U-M career in grand fashion posting a career-low 72.75 scoring average. Helping U-M to eight top-five finishes, he aided the Wolverines in capturing team titles at the Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4) and the Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26).
An All-Big Ten first team selection and sport management major, Thomson paced the Wolverines in 10 events, won his first collegiate event at the Palmas del Mar Collegiate (Feb. 11-13) with a career-low 201 (68-69-64) 54-hole total and made his first career NCAA appearance as an individual. With his 70.56 scoring average, Thomson set a new Wolverine single-season record, topping Kyle Mueller’s 70.76 average (2017-18).
A political science major, Hoagland tripled his single-season sub-par total with 12, including a career-low 64 (-8) at the Island Resort Intercollegiate. His 72.61 scoring average was a career low by just over two shots. Earning his business administration degree from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Kim started seven of his nine events, averaging a career-low 73.23 per round.
An economics major, Liu was one of four Wolverines to play in every event last season while finishing with a career-low 73.81 per round average. Twice he fired a career-low 68 (-4), in the second rounds of the Highlands Invitational and the Virtues Intercollegiate.
To be eligible for GCAA All-America Scholar, a golfer must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically. They must participate in 50 percent of their team’s competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient also must be of high character and in good standing at their university.
University of Michigan Men’s Golf 2023-24 Academic Honors
• Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars: Will Anderson, Ben Hoagland, Jude Kim, Yuqi Liu, Hunter Thomson
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar: Will Anderson, Hunter Thomson
• Academic All-Big Ten: Will Anderson, Ben Hoagland, Jude Kim, Yuqi Liu, Jack O’Donnell, Hunter Thomson
• U-M Athletic Academic Achievement: Will Anderson, Jason Gordon, Ben Hoagland, Jude Kim, Yuqi Liu, Jack O’Donnell, Caden Pinckes, Hunter Thomson