Buckeyes Return to Competition with Big Ten Match Play – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 9, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio –The Ohio State men’s golf team is set to travel to Bradenton, Fla. for the Big Ten Match Play Championship, Feb. 10-11. Kicking off the second portion of the season for the Scarlet and Gray, the championship will be held at The Concession Golf Club, which features a par 72, 7,474-yard course designed by Buckeye legend Jack Nicklaus.
Live scoring for the 2012 Big Ten Match Play Championship will be available at http://www.ajga.org/big10mpc/ with daily summaries following each round at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Updates during the tournament will be posted on www.twitter.com/OhioState_MGOLF.
The Big Ten Network will also provide delayed coverage of the tournament, and is currently set to air Sunday, March 11 at noon.
TOURNAMENT BASICS
Name: 2012 Big Ten Match Play Championship
Course: The Concession Golf Club
Field (12 teams):
Illinois (25)
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 10 – Round One, Quarter Finals
Saturday, Feb. 11– Semi-Finals, Finals
THE BUCKEYE LINEUP
Competing for Ohio State this weekend are two seniors, one junior, one redshirt freshman and two freshmen. Seniors Alex Redfield and Dan Charen are joined by Matt Turner, Logan Jones, Grant Weaver and Boo Timko. Redfield, Charen and Timko competed in all 13 rounds in the fall, while Weaver competed in 10.
THE FORMAT
Competition begins Friday with eight conference squads vying in first-round competition. The teams are seeded based on the final fall rankings according to Golfstat.com, with the top four seeds receiving first-round byes. Ohio State, the No. 6 seed, will square off in the first round against Wisconsin (11th seed).
The quarterfinal matchups will pit top-seeded Illinois against the winner of Minnesota (eighth seed)-Michigan (ninth seed), fourth-seeded Purdue against the winner of Michigan State (fifth seed)-Nebraska (12th seed), second-seeded Iowa against the winner of Northwestern (seventh seed)-Penn State (10th seed) and third-seeded Indiana against the winner of the Ohio State (sixth seed)-Wisconsin (11th seed) matchup. Each paring consists of six individual matches between the schools with each competing for a team point. Play will begin 7:30 a.m. ET Friday with the Buckeyes teeing off around 8 a.m. ET. s
Semifinal and title matches for both championship and consolation brackets will take place Saturday.
THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes have faced a number of strong opponents so far this season, and the trend will continue at the Big Ten Match Play Championship when Ohio State takes on a competitive and balanced Big Ten field.
Twenty-fifth ranked Illinois leads the way, receiving the No. 1 seed in the competition, while Iowa will take the No. 2 spot. Sixth-seeded Ohio State has already faced seven Big Ten opponents during fall play, including Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue.
This will be the fourth-annual Match Play Championship hosted by the Big Ten. The competition began after changes were made to the format of the NCAA Championships effective at the 2009 event to include an eight-team match play finale after the conclusion of 54 holes of stroke play. Last season, the Buckeyes tied Indiana in the semifinal round, but Indiana won the tiebreaker to send Ohio State to the third-place consolation-round matchup against Illinois; the Scarlet and Gray went on to beat the Illini to claim third-place.
FALL BALL
The Buckeyes began their 2011-12 campaign in much the same fashion as the previous season, winning the Marshall Invite. Senior Alex Redfield took the individual title as Ohio State finished the two-day tournament an impressive 18-under 834.
Moving on, the Scarlet and Gray faced some challenges finishing in 10th-place and 11th-place at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational, respectively. Ohio State, however, was quick to bounce back with a second-place showing at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin.
The Buckeyes wrapped up fall play with the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational with a 15th-place finish.
THE GREENS
The fourth edition of the Big Ten Match Play Championship will take place on the Jack Nicklaus designed The Concession Golf Course in Bradenton, Fla. The course was created by Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin to emulate the spirit of the Ryder Cup, and will feature the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship along with the Archie Griffin Classic this spring.
The 18-hole, par-72 course was names Best New Private Course of 2006 by Golf Digest magazine, and, according to the United States Golf Association, holds one of the highest Course and Slope Ratings.
WEATHER REPORT
Friday appears to offer great conditions for the Big Ten Match Play Championship with the high reaching 79 and mostly cloudy skies. Saturday, on the other hand, could present more difficult conditions with a 50 percent chance of precipitation and a high of 68.
CHAREN TAKES GOLD
Competing in the 12th annual Pan American Maccabi Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ohio State senior Dan Charen claimed individual and team Gold while representing the United States. Tallying a total score of 277 over the four days of competition, Dec. 27-30, Charen dominated the par 70, 6,227-yard Clube de Campo de Sao Paulo, one of three golf courses in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
A regional competition for Jewish athletes, the Pan American Maccabi Games are held every four years and focus on celebrating Jewish traditions and heritage through sports.
OHIO STATE SIGNS TWO FOR 2012-13
Ohio State men’s golf head coach Donnie Darr announced the signing of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent Thursday. Joining the Buckeyes for the 2012-13 season are Michael Bernard and Timothy (Tee-K) Kelly.
Bernard is from Hubert Heights, Ohio, and attends Wayne High School. Currently ranked 16th in the class of 2012 Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, he has broken every school golf record and has held the lowest stroke average in his conference the last four years.
Kelly is from Wheaton, Ill., and attends Wheaton Warrenville High School. The four-time Du Page Valley All-Conference selection was the 2011 individual champion at the conference tournament and earned the conference’s Co-Player of the Year award. Kelly was a three-time state qualifier as well as his team’s Most Valuable Player for three-straight years.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes have a quick turnaround with the Puerto Rico Classic scheduled for Feb. 19-21. Ohio State will travel to Rio Grande, Puerto Rico for the tournament.
