7,The 33rd-ranked University of Minnesota men's golf team opened the 2001 Big Ten Championship in fifth place, firing a three-over 291 in the first round of the 72-hole tournament held at the par 72, 7,118-yard Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Ill. Sophomores Wilhelm Schauman and Joe Affrunti, and freshman Simon Nash, each shot an opening round of even-par for the Maroon and Gold to finish in a tie for 12th after the first day of competition.

The Golden Gophers stand six shots behind first-day leader Michigan State, who fired a three-under 285. The Spartans are followed in the team standings by Purdue at 286, and Ohio State and two-time defending champion Northwestern at 289.

In addition to the opening-rounds of 72 shot by Schauman, Affrunti and Nash, sophomore Ben Meyers fired a three-over 75 and freshman Justin Smith registered a seven-over 79. Schauman, the 47th-ranked collegiate golfer, remains a solid favorite to take the individual conference title along with defending champion Luke Donald of Northwestern. Donald shot a two-under 70 in the first round to place in a three-way tie at third place. Ohio State's Justin Collins and Purdue's Ryan Miller stand atop the day one standings with their three-under 69s.

Competition continues Saturday with two rounds, beginning at 7:30 a.m. The final 18-hole round of the Big Ten Championship is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Sunday. Complete results are available at www.fightingillini.com and www.bigten.org.

2001 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Stone Creek Golf Club Urbana, Ill. Par: 72 Yardage: 7,118 18-Hole Team Results Team Scores Michigan State 285 -3 Purdue 286 -2 Northwestern 289 +1 Ohio State 289 +1 Minnesota 291 +3 Penn State 293 +5 Illinois 294 +6 Michigan 296 +8 Iowa 300 +12 Wisconsin 301 +13 Indiana 302 +14 2001 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships Stone Creek Golf Club Urbana, Ill. Par: 72 Yardage: 7,118 18-Hole Individual Results Player School Scores Justin Collins Ohio State 69 -3 Ryan Miller Purdue 69 -3 Luke Donald Northwestern 70 -2 Peter Karmis Purdue 70 -2 Eric Jorgensen Michigan State 70 -2 Steve Wheatcroft Indiana 71 -1 Brent Goik Michigan State 71 -1 Bo Anderson Iowa 71 -1 Chris Mayson Purdue 71 -1 Jim Fuller Penn State 71 -1 Scott Harrington Northwestern 71 -1 Golden Gopher Scores Place Player Scores T12 Wilhelm Schauman 72 E T12 Joe Affrunti 72 E T12 Simon Nash 72 E T33 Ben Meyers 75 +3 T49 Justin Smith 79 +7