Marquette Set to Defend Men's Golf Championship
CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. – Marquette will be the defending champion when the BIG EAST Conference returns to Callawassie Island Golf Club for the BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championship Presented by Jeep on April 29-May 1. Play in the 54-hole tournament will begin each day at 8 a.m. ET. The Championship will be played on the Dogwood and Magnolia Courses. Live stats will be available on GolfStat.com.
The team winner will earn the BIG EAST’s automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Championship field. Should the individual champion not be a member of the winning team, he will also earn a spot to the NCAA Championship.
Last year’s tournament was one of the most dramatic in conference history. On the final day, Marquette overcame a 17-stroke deficit to edge second-place Seton Hall by one stroke and third-place Georgetown by two strokes. DePaul, the leader after two rounds, finished nine strokes behind.
Individually, Marquette freshman Matt Bachmann shot a 72 in the final round to finish at even par and edge three players by two strokes for medalist honors.
Marquette is the No. 1 team seed going into the Championship, according to Golfstat, for the second year in a row. Freshman Hunter Eichhorn and sophomore Matt Murlick are ranked first and second, respectively, in the Golfstat standings. In the fall season, the Golden Eagles broke into the GCAA Golfweek/Bushnell top 25 for the first time in school history. Eichhorn, along with juniors Oliver Farrell and Austin Kendziorski, earned event championships in the first half of the season. Going into the Championship, Marquette has five of the top eight ranked players by Golfstat.
Seton Hall is ranked second in the Golfstat team standings. The Pirates are led by junior Chris Yeom, who is third individually, according to Golfstat. The Pirates have notched five top-5 team finishes in 10 tournaments. Yeom enters the weekend with the conference’s lowest stroke average (71.62), having shot five of his 10 tournaments this year under par. Freshman Gregor Tait is second on the team in scoring average this spring and won an individual title at the UNCG/Martin Downs Collegiate.
Georgetown, the 2016 BIG EAST champion, brings a strong and experienced squad. The Hoyas are led by the senior duo of Sam Madsen with a 72.54 stroke average and Cole Berman with a 73.63 mark. In last year’s Championship, Berman finished fifth and Madsen tied for seventh. Madsen has a pair of top-10 finishes this year, including medalist honors at the ECU Intercollegiate. Berman has logged a trio of top-10 finishes. Fellow senior Jack Musgrave owns a 74.13 stroke average.
Butler, which took sixth place last year, is seeded fourth this season. Fueled by youth, newcomer Logan Sabins is the top performer, averaging 73.8 per round. He will be joined by sophomores Patrick Allgeier and Michael Denner, and freshman Michael Cascino. Allgeier tied for seventh in last year’s Championship. Sabins and Allgeier each have three rounds in the 60s so far this season.
DePaul is the fifth seed. Senior Garret Buckley, who finished ninth in last year’s Championship, returns. Joey McCarthy has enjoyed a strong freshman season. He owns a 74.35 stroke average. Junior Charlie Spencer-White has a 76.05 average. Seniors Freddy and Bobby Thomas give the Blue Demons a veteran presence.
Sixth-seeded Xavier, which took fifth place last year, brings a youthful group to Callawassie this year. The Musketeers’ top three scorers are a pair of freshmen and a sophomore. Freshman Garrett Wood has paced the team with a 72.30 scoring average and six top-25 finishes. Sophomore Eduardo Rivera ranks second on the team with a 76.22 scoring mark.
Villanova, St. John’s, and Creighton are seeded seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.
Villanova will be aiming to move up from last year’s eighth-place finish. Sophomore Connor Daly and senior Andy Butler have been the mainstays. Both hold stroke averages of 73.43. Daly, who tied for 19th in last year’s championship, is coming off a third-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational. Butler took fourth at the Coca-Cola Invitational.
St. John’s has played its best golf recently, claiming third-place finishes at two of its last three tournaments. Sophomore Gerald Mackedon paced the Red Storm with a 74.16 stroke average after competing in all 12 regular-season tournaments. Junior Andrew Baek tied for 11
th at last year’s Championship and eighth two years ago.
Creighton can boast a deep lineup with five different golfers who have led the team in a meet this season and six different players who have turned in at least one round at or below par. Senior Charlie Bolton paced Creighton at last year’s BIG EAST Championship with a 10th place showing. This spring Trey Petit leads the squad with a 75.5 stroke average.
BIG EAST Team Notes
Butler
Butler’s lineup is fueled by youth. Newcomer Logan Sabins is the top performer, averaging 73.8 per round. He will be joined by sophomores Patrick Allgeier and Michael Denner, and freshman Michael Cascino. Junior Ricky Kuiper fills out the lineup. Sabins and Allgeier each have three rounds in the 60s this season. Butler won the NKU Fall Collegiate Classic, one of the Bulldogs’ top-four finishes in eight tournaments.
Creighton
Creighton boasts a deep lineup with five different golfers who have led the Bluejays in a meet this season and six different players who have turned in at least one round at or below par. Senior Charlie Bolton paced Creighton at last year’s BIG EAST Championship with a 10th place showing. Senior Trey Petit has been strong this year with a 75.5 average.
DePaul
DePaul finished fourth at last year’s BIG EAST Championship with Jonathan Hewett’s sixth-place finish leading the Blue Demons. Garret Buckley returns to Callawassie Island after finishing ninth a year ago in his first conference championship appearance. Joey McCarthy has enjoyed a strong freshman season with a 74.35 stroke average. Junior Charlie Spencer-White has a 76.05 average.
Georgetown
Georgetown looks to recreate its magic from the 2016 BIG EAST Championship to win its second league title in three seasons. The Hoyas are led by Sam Madsen with a 72.54 stroke average and Cole Berman with a 73.63 average. Both seniors have earned BIG EAST Male Golfer of the Week accolades this season with Madsen claiming a pair of top-10 finishes, including medalist honors at the ECU Intercollegiate. Berman has logged a trio of top-10 finishes, including tying for first in regulation play at the 33rd Georgetown Intercollegiate to lead the Hoyas to the tournament crown. Fellow senior Jack Musgrave owns a 74.13 stroke average.
Marquette
Marquette seeks its second straight BIG EAST championship, and third in four seasons. The Golden Eagles opened the season in historic fashion by earning the first GCAA Golfweek/Bushnell Top 25 ranking in program history on Sept. 29, checking in at No. 22, following a 32-under-par, 13-stroke win at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25). Marquette has three individual medalists in the same season for the first time in school history, as Oliver Farrell (Northern Intercollegiate), Austin Kendziorski (Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills) and Hunter Eichhorn (Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational) earned event championships in the first half of the season.
St. John’s
St. John's men's golf team saw its best efforts come at the tail end of the 2017-18 season, claiming third-place finishes at two of the last three tournaments. Sophomore Gerald Mackedon paced the Red Storm over the 2017-18 regular season with a 74.16 stroke average after competing in all 12 regular season tournaments.
Seton Hall
Seton Hall enters the BIG EAST Championship looking to continue a strong year. The Pirates have notched five top-5 team finishes in 10 tournaments, including a program-record 24-under-par performance at the Loyola Invitational. Junior Chris Yeom enters the weekend with the conference’s lowest stroke average, having shot five of his 10 tournaments this year under par. Newcomer Gregor Tait has had the team’s second-lowest scoring average this spring and won the individual title at the UNCG/Martin Downs Collegiate.
Villanova
Sophomore Connor Daly and senior Andy Butler have been the mainstays for the Wildcats this year. Both hold stroke averages of 73.43. Daly, who finished in a tie for 19th in last year’s championship, is coming off a third-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational which earned BIG EAST Golfer of the Week honors. Butler took fourth at the Coca-Cola Invitational.
Xavier
Xavier's top three scorers are a pair of freshmen and a sophomore. Freshman Garrett Wood has paced the Musketeers with a scoring average of 72.30 and six top-25 finishes, including a career-best 10th- place finish at the Loyola Intercollegiate. He has the team's low round this year with a 65. Sophomore Eduardo Rivera ranks second on the team with a 76.22 scoring average. Xavier's brother duo of freshman Martin Jaramillo and senior Daniel Jaramillo have identical scoring averages (77.04).