Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Completes Record-Breaking Spring Season
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 20, 1999
The 1999 Marquette golf team had one of its best spring seasons in history this year. The Golden Eagles finished in the top eight in four out of the six tournaments they entered, including an eighth-place finish at the Conference USA Championship. Head coach Tim Grogan's team compiled a 303.4 stroke average in 14 rounds of play this season, setting a school record. MU finished the season particularly strong, averaging 297.3 over its last seven rounds.
The leader of that charge was senior Mike Johnston. He shot 71 or better in five of his final six rounds and ended the season with a 74.0 scoring average. That is the lowest in Marquette history, surpassing the record of 74.3 set last year by Tom Uutala. Johnston tied for sixth in each of his last two tournaments, the C-USA Championship and the Cobra Collegiate, averaging 71.2 strokes and shooting a career-low 69 twice. The sixth-place finish at the Conference USA Championship was the highest finish ever for a Golden Eagle. He was the only Marquette golfer to shoot in the 70's in all 14 rounds of play.
Another golfer who improved as the season went on was junior Tim Jacobs. He was Marquette's top finisher in the Energizer Billiken Invitational, recording his first career top-10 finish. He shot a two-round score of 147 and earned a share of eighth place, helping MU to its best finish of the season, fifth in the 18-team event. In the final two tournaments, Jacobs shot 70 twice, his career low, and lowered his season scoring average to 75.4, second-best on the team.
Besides Johnston and Jacobs, two other golfers participated in all six tournaments for the Golden Eagles. Sophomores Mark Wentz and Edvins Erkmanis finished third and fourth, respectively, on the team in scoring average. Wentz was MU's top finisher at the rain-shortened Embry-Riddle Golf Classic, where he finished in a tie for eighth. As a team, the Golden Eagles earned a share of sixth in the 23-team field. Wentz finished the season with a 77.1 scoring average.
Erkmanis endured an inconsistent spring season. After having the team's second-best scoring average (76.3) in the fall, the transfer from Ohio State shot rounds as high as 86 and as low as 73. At the Billiken Invitational, he followed an opening-round 84 with a 74 in the second round, helping Marquette shoot a 290, a 19-stroke improvement over the first round. Like much of the team, Erkmanis saved his best for last, shooting a 229 in three rounds at the season-ending Cobra Collegiate.
Two other second-year players, Mike English and Marc Fisher, split time in the Marquette line-up. English played in four tournaments during the spring, his best being the Billiken Invitational, in which he shot a two-round total of 151 and tied Johnston for MU's second-best finisher, 24th overall. Fisher, who had a 79.3 average in his eight rounds this spring, shot a 155 at the Butler Spring Invitational. That was just one stroke behind Johnston, MU's top finisher, and earned him a share of 31st place.
