The entire Marquette lineup finished among the top 15 in the
individual standings as the Golden Eagles cruised to a 24-shot margin of
victory at the Callawassie Island Golf Club in Okatie, S.C. in capturing its
fourth Big East team title and third crown in five years.
Marquette struggled a little in Friday’s opening round,
carding a 15-over 303 over the challenging 6,956-yard, par-72 Callawassie
Island layout. But the Golden Eagles took control of the championship by
matching par in Saturday’s second round with a 288 and then ripped off the low
team round of the tournament, a 7-under 281 in Sunday’s final round for an
8-over 872 total.
Marquette, at No. 43 in the latest Golfstat rankings making it easily the highest-ranked team in the
field, earned the Big East’s automatic berth in an NCAA regional. The regional
bids will be unveiled in a broadcast on The Golf Channel Wednesday beginning at
9 p.m. EDT.
DePaul, which trailed Marquette by six shots going into
Sunday’s final round, finished up with an 11-over 299 to earn runnerup honors
with a 32-over 896 total. Butler and Seton Hall shared third place at 35-over
899, four shots behind DePaul. Both finished strong with the Bulldogs posting a
final round of 5-over 293 and the Pirates closing with a solid 3-over 291.
Creighton had grabbed the lead at the end of the first round
as the Blue Jays carded a 10-over 298. But they couldn’t keep up with
Marquette, adding a 301 in the second round before finishing up with a 305 that
left them alone in fifth place at 904.
Defending champion Georgetown closed with an 8-over 296 that
left it in sixth place at 45-over 909. The Hoyas had graduated a strong senior
class that included former Haverford School standout and 2015 BMW Philadelphia
Amateur champion Cole Berman and went through a bit of a rebuilding season.
Villanova had its best round of the weekend in Sunday’s
final round, a 13-over 301 that left the Wildcats in eighth place at 60-over
924. Mark Benevento, a redshirt junior from Ocean City, N.J. and a St.
Augustine Prep product, led the way for Villanova as he was one of four players
who finished tied for second at 1-over 217, a shot behind individual champion
Garrett Wood, a sophomore at Xavier out of Mason, Ohio.
Marquette was led by Matt Murlick, a junior from Winnetka,
Ill. who was also part of that quartet tied for second at 1-over 217. Murlick,
who finished in a tie for second in the individual chase a year ago at
Callawassie Island, opened with a 75 and matched par in the second round with a
72 before finishing up with a 2-under 70.
The low round in the final round for the Golden Eagles was
the 3-under 69 turned in by Oliver Farrell, a senior at England. That enabled
Farrell to finish alone in sixth place at 2-over 218.
Tyler Leach, a freshman from Spring Valley, Wis., matched
Murlick’s 2-under 70 in the final round to finish a shot behind Farrell in
seventh place at 3-over 219. Leach’s 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round was
the low round of the day for the Golden Eagles.
Austin Kendziowski, a senior from Sussex, Wis., landed with
a trio of players tied for eighth place at 5-over 221 after he matched par in
the final round with a 72.
Rounding out the Marquette lineup was last year’s Big East
individual champion, Hunter Eichhorn, a sophomore from Carney, Mich. who closed
with a 1-over 73 to finish among the group tied for 14th at 226.
Eichhorn’s opening-round 75 was a counter for Marquette.
Xavier’s Wood came into the final round trailing the leader,
DePaul’s Charlie Spencer-White, a senior from the United Kingdom, by five
shots. Wood opened with a 3-over 75 and matched par in the second round with a
72.
But he matched the low round of the weekend with a sparkling
3-under 69 in the final round to overtake Spencer-White and everybody else,
finishing with an even-par 216 total.
Benevento was only two shots behind Spencer-White after
added a 1-under 71 to his opening round of 1-over 73. He closed with another
1-over 73 to get his piece of second along with Marquette’s Murlick at 1-over
217.
Spencer-White backed off with a final round of 3-over 75 to
also join the foursome at 217. Rounding out that group was Butler’s Patrick
Allgeier, a junior from Fort Wayne, Ind. who carded his second straight
even-par 72 in Sunday’s final round.
Joining Marquette’s Kendziowski in the trio tied for eighth
at 5-over 221 were DePaul’s Joe McCarthy, a sophomore from Cincinnati, and
Seton Hall’s Chris Yeom, a senior from Flushing, N.Y.
McCarthy sandwiched a 1-over 73 with a pair of 2-over 74s.
Yeom, who had shared second place with Marquette’s Murlick a year ago, bounced
back from an opening-round 76 with a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round
before finishing up with a 3-over 75.
Backing up Benevento for Villanova was Connor Daly, the junior
leader for the young Wildcats from Bronxville, N.Y. Daly, the reigning Met
Amateur champion, closed with his best round of the weekend, a 3-over 75 to
finish among the group tied for 24th at 230.
Reb Banas, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., finished alone
in 40th place at 240 after closing with his best round of the
weekend, a 6-over 78.
Villanova head coach Jim Wilkes brought three freshmen along
to experience Callawassie Island and the Big East Championship for the first
time.
Matt Davis, one of the top players in the Inter-Ac League
during a stellar career at Malvern Prep, finished alone in 41st at
247. Davis opened with a 79 before struggling to an 83 in the second round and
an 85 in the final round.
Davis’ potential was evident when he earned co-medalist
honors in the one-day La Salle Invitational at LuLu Country Club and led
Villanova to the team title in his last start before Callawassie Island.
Jack O’Hara of Loudonville, N.Y., came on in relief of Danny
Dougherty, a Tower Hill product, in the final round and carded a counting
3-over 75. Dougherty had posted an opening-round 81 and an 84 in Saturday’s
second round.
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