CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. – For the last four years, Georgetown and Marquette have alternated winning the BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championship Presented by Jeep.  This year, it’s the Hoyas who are the defending champion and the Golden Eagles along with seven other teams will be aiming to win the conference crown.
 
The BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championship returns to Callawassie Island Golf Club for the sixth straight year.  The 54-hole tournament will be played April 26-28.  The competition 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 BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) will provide coverage of the final rounds on www.bigeast.com.  Additional information on the championship courses is available at www.callawassieisland.com.

The team winner will earn the BIG EAST’s automatic berth into the 2019 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.  
 
The tournament has produced tight finishes in each of the past two years.  In 2018, Georgetown edged Marquette by three strokes for the title.  Two years ago, Marquette edged Seton Hall by one stroke and Georgetown by two strokes. 
 
In last year’s tournament, Marquette freshman Hunter Eichhorn took medalist honors by firing a 2-under-par 214, which held off teammate Matt Murlick and Seton Hall’s Chris Yeom who tied for second two strokes back at even-par 216. 
 
Marquette is the No. 1 ranked team, according to GolfStat, going into the Championship for the third straight year.  Senior Oliver Farrell is the top ranked individual followed by Eichhorn, who is No. 2 for the second consecutive year.  Marquette seeks its third BIG EAST Championship in five years (2015, 2017) and third individual title in the last three years (Matthew Bachmann - 2017, Hunter Eichhorn - 2018).
 
The Golden Eagles have spent most of the season ranked among the nation's top-50 teams, according to Golfstat, while Farrell and Eichhorn enter the Championships ranked in the nation's top 50.  They are trying to become the first players in MU history to finish a season in the Golfstat top-100 since Mike Van Sickle was No. 1 in 2009.
 
Seton Hall is ranked second in the Golfstat team standings.  The Pirates have enjoyed one of their best years in program history.  In 10 events, the Pirates have placed sixth or better seven times, and their 291.48 stroke average entering the Championship weekend is the second-lowest single-year average in school history.  Seniors Chris Yeom and Gen Nagai currently rank third and fourth, respectively, in scoring average in the BIG EAST.
 
Georgetown, the reigning BIG EAST champion, enters the 2019 Championship as the third-ranked team and looking for its third league title in the past four seasons. Junior Eduardo Blochtein paces the Hoyas with a 72.73 stroke average and has posted three top-10 finishes this season. Classmate Hardin Councill is close behind with a 73.88 stroke average while finishing as the team’s top finisher in the final two tournaments of the year. Junior Patrick DiPasquale and freshman Will O’Neill both have sub-75 averages at 74.35 and 74.54, respectively.   
Butler finished fifth last year and is ranked fourth this season.   Juniors Patrick Allgeier (73.3) and Logan Sabins (73.4) lead the Bulldogs in scoring average. Allgeier, who has posted top-10 finishes in the 2018 and 2017 Championships, placed second in the Butler Fall Invitational, won the Big Four Classic and followed that up with a Top 10 finish at the Wright State Invitational in the team’s final tune-up before the Championship.
 
Fifth-seeded Xavier finished sixth last year.  Garrett Wood has been the anchor of the squad.  The sophomore ranks 12th in the BIG EAST with an average score of 74.00 with a versus-par of 2.45 over 22 rounds this season.  He has shot five rounds at par-or-better with a top finish of 11th place at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.  His best 54-hole finish was 215 (-1) at the FAU Spring Classic.  Wood earned All-BIG EAST First Team Honors as a freshman last year.  XU averages 299.27 per round and own a versus-par 13.09 over eight tournaments and 22 rounds this year.
 
DePaul is the sixth seed.  The Blue Demons have finished either second or third in four of the last five championships. They finished second in 2015, third in 2018, 2016 and 2014 and fourth in 2017.  Charlie Spencer-White was the top Blue Demon a year ago, finishing in a tie for sixth place. Spencer-White leads the team this season with a scoring average of 73.61 and finished second at the North Alabama Spring Classic at the end of March.
St. John’s, Creighton and Villanova are seeded seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.
For the second year in a row, Gerald Mackedon leads St. John’s. This year, the junior has produced four top-15 finishes, including a win at the Patriot Intercollegiate.  Last year, senior Ross Moore was the team’s top finisher, tying for 12th place.  Senior Andrew Baek has an 11th and an eighth-place finish at the Championship.
Creighton has been led by freshman Tucker Knaak, who leads the Bluejays with a 75.4 scoring average, and owns four top-10 finishes in nine events.  Nate Vontz led the team with a 23rd place finish at last year’s BIG EAST Championship. Creighton’s 303.3 strokes per round average is the program’s lowest since 2007-08.
 
Villanova can look to junior Connor Daly, a three-year contributor who picked up a win in the fall season at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate.  He is sixth in the GolfStat individual standings.  In their last meet prior to the BIG EAST Championship, the Wildcats won the Explorer Invitational with freshman Matt Davis tying for medalist honors.    
 
 
 
BIG EAST Team Notes
 
Butler 
Patrick Allgeier (73.3) and Logan Sabins (73.4) lead the team in scoring average. Allgeier placed second in the Butler Fall Invitational and won the Big Four Classic with a three-under 69 at renowned Crooked Stick Golf Club.  Sabins has five Top 10 finishes among his 11 starts this season. Allgeier finished in a tie for sixth at the 2018 BIG EAST Championship after finishing in a tie for seventh in 2017 as a freshman.
 
Creighton
Freshman Tucker Knaak leads the Bluejays with a 75.4 scoring average, and owns four top-10 finishes in nine events.  Nate Vontz led the Bluejays with a 23rd place finish at last year’s BIG EAST Championship. Last summer Vontz qualified for the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, one of the events on the Web.com Tour.  Creighton’s 303.3 strokes per round average is the program’s lowest since 2007-08.
 
DePaul
DePaul has finished either second or third in four of the last five championships. The Blue Demons finished second in 2015, third in 2018, 2016 and 2014 and fourth in 2017.
Charlie Spencer-White was the top Blue Demon a year ago in a tie for sixth place. The best finish by a DePaul golfer in a BIG EAST Championship is a tie for third by Freddy Thomas in the 2015 tournament.
Spencer-White leads the team this season with a scoring average of 73.61 and finished second at the North Alabama Spring Classic at the end of March.
 
Georgetown
The Hoyas, the reigning BIG EAST champions, enter the 2019 Championship looking for their third league title in the past four seasons. Eduardo Blochtein paces the team with a 72.73 stroke average and has posted three top-10 finishes this season. Hardin Councill is hot on his trail with a 73.88 stroke average while finishing as Georgetown’s top finisher in the final two tournaments of the year. Patrick DiPasquale and Will O’Neill both have sub-75 averages as well at 74.35 and 74.54, respectively.   
 
Marquette
Marquette seeks its third BIG EAST Championship in five years (2015, 2017) and third individual title in the last three years (Matthew Bachmann - 2017, Hunter Eichhorn - 2018).  The Golden Eagles have spent most of the season ranked among the nation's top-50 teams, according to Golfstat, while Oliver Farrell and Eichhorn enter the championships ranked in the nation's top-50.  They are trying to become the first players in MU history to finish a season in the Golfstat top-100 since Mike Van Sickle was No. 1 in 2009.
 
St. John’s
For the second year in a row, Gerald Mackedon leads the Red Storm.  This year, the junior has produced four top-15 finishes, including a win at the Patriot Intercollegiate.  Last year, senior Ross Moore was the team’s top finisher, tying for 12th place. 
 
Seton Hall
Spearheaded by seniors Gen Nagai and Chris Yeom, Seton Hall has enjoyed one of its best years in tournament play in program history.  In 10 events, the Pirates have placed sixth or better, seven times, and their 291.48 stroke average entering the weekend is the second-lowest single-year average in Seton Hall history.  Yeom and Nagai currently rank third and fourth respectively in the BIG EAST in scoring average entering the Championship.
 
Villanova
Villanova can look to junior Connor Daly, a three-year contributor who picked up a win in the fall at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate and had three other top-10 finishes.  In their last meet prior to the Championship, the Wildcats won the Explorer Invitational with freshman Matt Davis tying for medalist honors.   
 
Xavier
Sophomore Garrett Wood ranks 12th in the BIG EAST with an average score of 74.00 with a versus-par of 2.45 over 22 rounds this season.  He has carded five rounds at par-or-better with a top finish of 11th at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.  Wood’s best 54-hole finish was 215 (-1) at the FAU Spring Classic.  He earned All-BIG EAST First Team Honors his freshman season last year.  Xavier averages 299.27 per round and owns a versus-par 13.09 over eight tournaments and 22 rounds this year.