Golf Releases 2008 Spring Schedule
11/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 27, 2007
Link to 2007-08 Golf Schedule
MILWAUKEE - Marquette head golf coach Tim Grogan announced today the Golden Eagles' spring schedule for 2008. MU will play in five highly-competitive tournaments beginning late February before the BIG EAST Championship, slated for April 20-22.
"There are quite a few top-50 teams throughout all of the events we are competing in this spring," said Grogan, whose squad climbed to a No. 54 ranking after the Golden Eagles won two of five tournaments this past fall, including four top-five finishes. "We're in pretty good position to challenge for a BIG EAST Championship, and our schedule this spring should help prepare us."
MU's first event in 2008 will be the Ron Smith/USF Invitational. The three-day tournament will be held Feb. 29 through March 2 at the Lake Jovita Country Club in Tampa, Fla., one of the finest courses the Golden Eagles will play this year, according to Grogan.
Next up will be the Pinehurst Intercollegiate held at the renowned Pinehurst No. 8 in Pinehurst, N.C., where Marquette will not only be tested against the sloping greens and false fronts March 16-18, but where they will go head-to-head with some of the top golfers in the country.
"Pinehurst will probably be our strongest field of the spring," said Grogan. "It should be quite the experience. We're staying right there on the resort. It's probably one of the most historic golf places in the country. There's definitely going to be some good teams there, and we are going to have to beat some of those teams if we're going to achieve our goal this spring and move up in the rankings."
The following weekend Marquette heads to Springfield, La., for the Carter Plantation Intercollegiate, hosted by Southeastern Louisiana University. It marks the Golden Eagles' first-ever stop at Carter Plantation, designed by PGA Champion David Toms.
"It's supposed to be one of the top golf courses in the area," Grogan said of Carter Plantation. "A lot of those Southeastern schools you may not think of as big-name schools, but they have some very good golf programs down there."
Marquette then makes a return trip to the Marshall Invitational, where it placed second last year and junior Mike Van Sickle finished runner-up for individual medalist honors. Grogan said the team is eager to go back to the Guyan Golf and Country Club in Huntington, W.Va., to hopefully move up in the standings this April.
The last tournament of the regular season in which MU will compete, The Palisades Collegiate Golf Classic, will be held April 14-15 in Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte is serving as the host school, a team the Golden Eagles saw at the Pacific Invitational in early November.
"Charlotte was the No. 1 team in the country for most of the fall," said Grogan. "For us to be competing against them again is going to be a good challenge. It should be good weather. We've been to Charlotte's fall event a few times, but never have played in the spring tournament."
This year's BIG EAST Championship will be hosted by Cincinnati at Traditions Golf Club in Hebron, Ky. Grogan admits he and the Golden Eagles are not familiar with the course, but the weather and course conditions that time of year are most certainly variables his team should be accustomed to.
"It could be cold. There could be rain, snow - who knows," said Grogan. "We'll be playing in the Midwest. With us being a midwestern school, we're comfortable playing this type of golf course, so I think that's a real positive for us."
If Marquette or any individuals qualify, the NCAA Regionals will be held May 15-17 at three separate sites with the finals to be played May 28-31 in Lafayette, Ind.
Van Sickle tied for 17th as an individual at last year's NCAA Central Regional.
Players Mentioned
