Michigan State Finishes in Second Place at Big Ten Championships - Michigan State Athletics

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's golf team went into the back nine of the final round in a back-and-forth battle with Illinois, but came up short as the Spartans ended up finishing one shot off the pace and in second place at the Big Ten Championships, held at The Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort in Indiana.

The Spartans had led through the first two rounds, taking an eight shot lead after starting with a 12-under par 276 and then led by one shot entering Sunday's final round.

Michigan State, ranked No. 46 in the country by Golfstat, closed the tournament out on Sunday by posting a 21-over par 309 to finish the three-day, 54-hole event at 22-over par 886.

Illinois, ranked No. 19 in the Golfstat rankings, shot a 19-over par 307 in the final round and finished atop the field of 14 teams with a score of 21-over par 885. Maryland finished in third place at 23-over par 887, with Northwestern in fourth at 26-over par 890 and Wisconsin fifth at 27-over par 891.

Final Results

"It's just hard," MSU Head Coach Casey Lubahn said. "We lost it on 16, but I think after last week, the guys were really looking forward to giving themselves a chance to win. They did just that and I think it showed a lot about them and their character.

"They battled as hard as they could for as long as they could and we have a group that's pretty down right now. We just came up a single shot short, but we're hopeful that we've got more golf to play."

The Spartans entered the final round ahead by one shot, but made the turn having extended their lead to three shots backed by a pair of birdies from sophomore August Meekhof, as well as one apiece from senior James Piot and freshman Ashton McCulloch. Paced by Meekhof's even par, MSU played the front in 5-over par, with Piot and senior Troy Taylor both scoring at 1-over and junior Brad Smithson finishing at 3-over par.

Playing in strong and gusty winds, the Spartans struggled on the back nine and fell behind by three shots on holes 10 through 14, with eight bogies and a double bogey. The team battled and pulled to within one shot twice in the final four holes. Piot and McCulloch both closed with birdies on 18 and MSU trailed by just one shot as the final group hit the fairway, but could not get any closer.

Meekhof was the leader for Michigan State, firing a 3-over par 75 in the final round to tie for third place overall with a score of 1-over par 217. His final round included two birdies and 12 pars.

Piot closed with a 5-over par 77 on Sunday and finished in eighth place at 4-over par 220 (66-77-77). Piot had five bogies and a double bogey, but closed out his round with three pars and a birdie on 18 as the Spartans pulled to within a stroke on the last group.

McCulloch shot a 6-over par 78 in the final round to finish with an 8-over par 224 and tie for 17th place overall. After playing the front nine in 6-over par, McCulloch played the back nine in even par, with a pair of birdies, including one on 18, and four pars.

Smithson finished in a tie for 45th place at 14-over par 230 (71-76-83). The junior shot an 11-over par 83 on Sunday. Senior Troy Taylor shot 7-over par 79 on Sunday in the final round and finished in a tie for 52nd place at 17-over par 233.

Meekhof was selected to the All-Big Ten Championship Team.

Selections for the NCAA Men's Golf Regionals will be announced on Wednesday, May 4 at 4 p.m. on the Golf Channel.

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