Marquette University Athletics
NCAA Golf Blog - Central Regional (Columbus, Ohio)
5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Download (1.2 MB) the 2008 Marquette men's golf postseason media guide (PDF).
Saturday, May 17, 2008 (5:49 p.m. EST) Well things have not gotten much better on the back nine. Schwab is teeing off on 18 and Bielawski is right behind. I'm actually leaving as soon as Bielo's done so I can run him and Associate A.D. Jim Nasiopulos to the airport to catch a 7:50 p.m. flight. Bielo graduates tomorrow, so we had to alter his travel plans. The rest of the team will fly out of Columbus at around 6:15 a.m. Sunday morning.
A recap will be available later this evening on GoMarquette.com. I'm not sure if I'll have another blog entry or not. If not, know that the Marquette players represented their university with class and character -- throughout the entire season and not just on this trip. They have a lot to be proud of despite what the turnout here may be.
- LL
Saturday, May 17, 2008 (4:09 p.m. EST) Everybody's just about made the turn. Things began to unravel a bit on the front nine. It looks as if today's windy conditions, combined with tough pin placements and the already challenging layout of the course, has gotten the best of most golfers today.
Bielawski, who was even-par through five, chipped off the green on hole six for a bogey, but overall is not playing all that bad. Van Sickle got off to a rough start. He was plus-four before shanking his tee shot on the par-3 hole eight. Even his dad, Gary, said he's never seen him do that before. His approach shot, which was about 50 yards to the pin, went over the green and he ended up with a double. A couple three-putts from some other guys, and MU has slipped back a bit in the team standings.
- LL
Saturday, May 17, 2008 (2:03 p.m. EST) Van Sickle hit a nice tee shot off of the first tee a little while ago. Scores from today's earlier rounds have been high. Marquette has already moved into the top 20 and Van Sickle the top 10. Both could be poised for a nice surge today. It hasn't started raining or thunderstorming yet, but it seems like the already strong winds have picked up a bit.
Sidetracking a tad, here is the interview with Assistant Coach Joe Weber, who also played at Marquette, which I was able to get this morning:
What are your observations of the tournament so far and how Marquette has played up to this point?
JW: Overall, I think the first round we kind of dug ourselves into too big of a hole and the course is one of the hardest courses in the country it looks like. I don't know if the moment got to everyone, or what, but we sort of settled down in the second round, and hopefully we can put something up to compete with some of the better schools out here. That would be fantastic. You never know what can happen. Maybe something amazing could happen today. We'll see what kind of level we can play at.
Although they may not be thinking about it, this could be the seniors (Gray and Bielawski) last collegiate tournament. Do you remember the last tournament you played in?
JW: Oh, yeah. My last event was our (BIG EAST) conference event and it was the best I've ever played, so it was awesome to end that way. Our two seniors are the leaders on this team, and hopefully they can go out there and play as well as they can and make it kind of an explanation point to end their career. They've already had great careers -- some of the best Marquette has ever had -- so I'd like to see them go out and play great today.
Do you have any advice for the seniors coming into today?
JW: No, not really. They know what's going on. It's one of those things where you've played golf for so many years and it's just another event. It is a lot more special because it's the NCAA, but you just have to go out there and have fun, and for those two guys having fun has never been a problem for them. They're pretty fun-loving guys, and I think they're going to go out there and enjoy today's round.
Speaking on behalf of all Marquette golf alumni, what does this team making it to the NCAA regional mean for the men's golf program?
JW: It's incredible. It's been one of those goals since when I got here six years ago. Tim [Grogan] has been talking about it since then. You look around at the schools that are here and that's where you want the program to be at. I think this is the first step of having it happen. Hopefully, we can establish ourselves as this is where we belong and this is where we should be and hopefully this carries over so future teams when they get here think that they can go on to nationals. This is awesome for the program.
- LL
Saturday, May 17, 2008 (11:22 a.m. EST) I just uploaded some photos from Wednesday's practice round and Thursday's first round of competition. Here are the links to those photo galleries ...
Practice Round Photo Gallery
First Round Photo Gallery
- LL
Saturday, May 17, 2008 (9:38 a.m. EST) Again, late tee times for the Golden Eagles today. If you didn't find the information yesterday on Golfstat.com, here is when MU players are scheduled to tee off on hole one ...
Schwab - 12:59 p.m.
Bielawski - 1:09 p.m.
Gray - 1:18 p.m.
Kretz - 1:28 p.m.
Van Sickle - 1:37 p.m.
Marquette will be paired will players from Cleveland State and Arkansas. The temperature right now is about 60 degrees with winds steady around 20 mph (gust up to 35 mph - Yikes!). Although there's not too many clouds in the sky right now, the forecast calls for some scattered thunderstorms to move into the area right around the time the Golden Eagles tee off. More from the Scarlet Course around the noon hour.
- LL
Friday, May 16, 2008 (11:27 p.m. EST) I was finally able to download some of the pictures I took from today's second round. You can find a link to the photo gallery by going to the recap page, or clicking here..
Enjoy. I'll catch up with you again in the morning. I'm going to try to get an interview with assistant coach Joe Weber, an MU golf alum, and share some of his insight into the tournament thus far and what the experience of playing in the NCAA tournament may mean for the two seniors -- Bielawski and Gray -- and the men's golf program.
- LL
Friday, May 16, 2008 (7:14 p.m. EST) Most of the guys are on the putting green right now and Schwab headed over to the driving range for a little bit of practice. I got a chance to speak with senior Ted Gray and junior Mike Van Sickle following Van Sickle's round. here are excerpts from those conversations ...
Ted Gray:
"I shot a stroke better, which is always good, but off the tee it's not looking so good for me right now and out here you have to hit the fairways. If you don't, it's tough to even make par out here. That's my problem right now. I have to work on that. Hopefully tomorrow, I can get it off the tee a lot better.
"I was hitting it good last night on the range, and I had a good feeling coming into today. But when you're out there it's a little bit different of a game. Hopefully, tomorrow I can shoot something right around even par. I'm not looking to go a bunch under. I mean, that would be great, but right now par is a pretty good score out here."
Mike Van Sickle:
"I definitely played a lot better today. It was one of those days where you visualize the shot and you hit the shot you just visualized. I really struck the ball well, had some really good putts -- made a couple -- but the way I played i really could've shot something low today, 66 or 67, but it just didn't happen.
"I had a three-footer that lipped out on five. Apparently a lot of people were having problems there, just a bad pin placement. I had a three-footer that looked straight and broke about four inches. The other par 3 I just didn't make a four- or five-footer for par. I really played solidly, but didn't get a whole lot to go in.
"The thing is, at any college tournament you don't really know how any other individuals are playing or what the team scores are. You just have to stick to what you're doing. I kept myself in it today by shooting a 71, so I'll just get out there and try to play the same way tomorrow."
Friday, May 16, 2008 (6:16 p.m. EST) So far Mike Van Sickle has been one of the biggest movers on the day. He is now at one-under for the second round, even though he's just missed out on a few birdie putts. His bogey on the par-3 hole five hurt him a little bit, but overall he's hit some pretty big shots.
You can see the frustration level start to pick up for the players who were struggling throughout the day. Kretz, Bielawski and Gray had some tough breaks on a few putts I've seen and displayed obvious displeasure, despite maintaining their cool. One player Schwab was paired with (I won't mention the school) was the most outspoken with his frustration of all the players I've seen.
Again, a complete wrap-up will be available a bit later today, once all of the final results are available. Be sure to check GoMarquette.com for the latest.
- LL
Friday, May 16, 2008 (4:16 p.m. EST) Well, everybody's now made the turn. Van Sickle is two-under. He had a 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 hole 12 that he left just a couple of inches short and tapped in for birdie. He also just birdied hole 18. It was a tricky five-foot putt after his short approach shot dropped about five five from the pin. Van Sickle is tied for ninth last I saw.
The weather is certainly playing to Marquette's advantage this afternoon. The sky has cleared up and the wind has died down a little bit -- this all happened right before Schwab teed off on hole 10 to begin his round. This was also as Alabama's last player was coming into clubhouse. He sarcastically commented, "This is just like it was when we teed off ... only it was 30 degrees cooler ... the wind was blowing harder ... and it was raining."
I'm going to go back out on the course and try to provide another update before the round's over.
- LL
Friday, May 16, 2008 (12:35 p.m. EST) Just arrived at the course about 15 minutes ago. Marquette's managed to move up the leaderboard without even stepping up to the tees yet, as teams continue to struggle. Temperatures are around 60 degrees, although with a 20 mph north wind, temperatures don't feel all that cool. The wind, however, is probably having more of an effect on the golf ball.
If you haven't looked at the live scoring, so far only one player today is below par. Kevin Tway of Oklahoma State shot a two-under 69 and is now the individual leader. The team leader, Wake Forest, is three-over with only a few holes left. Georgia Tech, the No. 8 team in the country according to Golfstat is 15-over on the day with only a couple players still out on the course.
Dustin Schwab will be the first Golden Eagle to tee off at 12:59 p.m., followed by Kelly Kretz. Click here (PDF) for a complete list of second round tee times and group pairings.
- LL
Friday, May 16, 2008 (10:43 a.m. EST) With today's late tee time, the players were allowed to sleep in a bit today. They will leave for the course around 11:30 a.m. I did get a chance to catch up with Mike Bielawski and Dustin Schwab after breakfast. The following is a transcript of my interview:
How are you enjoying the NCAA tournament experience so far and how does it compare to other tournaments you've played in?
MB: To me it feels like an USGA event. You have the putting green and driving range roped off and only players and coaches can go in there. It feels cool - you feel kind of important.
DS: I agree. It's a lot more secured than most tournaments. Players are treated a little bit better than most tournaments. It's pretty nice.
What's your focus heading into today's round, or do you try to be a little more relaxed?
MB: I'd say your focus level is just the same as yesterday, if not higher. You really don't want to change any of the strategy we've talked about -- playing this course conservatively, because a lot of pars can do you a lot of good for you. You'd be surprised if you shoot even par you'd be surprised how quickly you'd move up the leaderboard.
DS: You definitely do not want to get too aggressive on this course just because if you start firing at pins, and you miss, you're making bogeys and doubles.
MB: [The Scarlet Course] is a phenomenal layout. Wherever you miss the ball, there's a bunker or something there that's really going to penalize you.
How does the course compare to other courses you might have played?
MB: This is as close to as hard as it gets for me. I mean 7,500 yards is tough. I guess, The Bull up in the Kohler area (actually, Sheboygan Falls, Wis. and another Jack Nicklaus-designed course) is pretty tough.
DS: I would compare it to any country club that we've played, maybe just lengthen it by about a 1,000 yards. The country clubs you play, you hit a driver then wedges in. Here you hit a driver and five and six irons in, if you're lucky. So it's pretty tough.
How can the team make a surge in the field today?
MB: Well, you're not going to win the tournament today, but today could be the day where you can shoot yourself in the foot. So one thing you want to do is kind of chip away at the lead and look to get into the seventh, eighth or ninth spot - somewhere around there. If we can pick up even seven or eight shots today, that would be fine.
DS: Our goal was to win, obviously, but we thought 10th place would be around 900. So right now we'd have to make up about 14 shots. If we can shoot about a 293 today, that would be good.
What was discussed in last night's team meeting?
MB: Just keeping in mind that we're not the team that's just happy to be here. We're disappointed with how we finished yesterday, and we're still looking to contend. You know, we shot one bad round yesterday, but there's no reason why we can't have two good ones coming up.
Thursday, May 15, 2008 (10:49 p.m. EST) We went to team dinner around 7:30 p.m. The guys were hungry -- Schwab downed a 8 oz. tenderloin in just under two minutes. Amazing. While we're on the topic of food, I learned that eating salmon is the good omen, specifically for Ted Gray, who only ate salmon at the team's last tourney, the BIG EAST Championship, where he was the individual champion.
If you are superstitious, associate A.D. Jim Nasiopulos brought up another theory during today's round. The team was wearing their white shirts today, which they wore during the final round of the BIG EAST, the team's worst round. Jim was joking, of course, but a little luck your way can never hurt during a tough competition.
Remember how I told you all earlier how difficult the greens were today? Well, since we've check in I've now seen three guys, all from other teams, practicing their putting in the hallways of the hotel. Looks like everybody is trying to get an edge somehow.
MU's tee times are later tomorrow with the first tee time scheduled for 12:59 p.m.
- LL
Thursday, May 15, 2008 (3:55 p.m. EST) As promised, here are some Marquette player reactions from today's opening round in Columbus:
Freshman Kelly Kretz:
"I was pretty disappointed with the way I finished. The course played tough, but we knew this was a tough golf course coming in. My goal coming in was not to have any doubles (bogeys) and I did not want to three-putt. I had two doubles and four three-putts; two of them were from off the green. I made it harder on myself by making some stupid mistakes.
"You're going to make bogeys on this golf course, it's just that tough of a golf course. I need to putt better. I didn't have very many one-putts. You have putt well.
"If we can keep it around even par tomorrow. I think that will help us. If we can keep [the team score] below 290, I think we'll give ourselves a chance. We definitely have some work to do in the next couple of days."
Senior Ted Gray:
"Especially on the front, I hit the ball really poorly. I was just looking for anything on the back nine, and I shot one-over on the back, which I thought was pretty good today. My ball striking was pretty bad, and you have to hit the fairways here to score well. But I just have to keep going.
"I hit the ball the last four or five holes as good as I have all year, so I just have to keep those little swing thoughts in mind and bring them out tomorrow afternoon right away and get off to a better start.
"We haven't had an experience quite like this -- this is the biggest event we've all played in, so it's still kind of new to us. One round's done, so we have some experience under our belt now, and hopefully will play a little more relaxed tomorrow."
Junior Mike Van Sickle:
"I just came out and started poorly today. It was a real grind for me in the afternoon. I just try to come up with some simple swing thoughts for the back side. I hit the ball a little bit better. I had just one hiccup on the back. Otherwise, I could have made a few more putts and could've maybe gotten it back to par.
"We know that it's only one round -- that's one-third of the tournament, one-third of our score. If we come out tomorrow and shoot something around even, I think we'll be right back in it. It's definitely doable."
The team will head back to the course around 4:30 p.m. and get dinner afterward. I'll probably give at least one more update this afternoon or early evening, possibly more.
- LL
Thursday, May 15, 2008 (1:22 p.m. EST) The guys are just finishing up. Van Sickle is coming up the 18th fairway. Both he and his playing partner from Eastern Kentucky have hit some outstanding shots today, of the holes I've watched them play.
For instance, the player from EKU's second shot -- from about 250 yards out -- on the par-5 hole 12 landed about 1-15 feet from the cup; Van Sickle's approach shot was from nearly the same distance and ended up about a foot closer to the pin. Neither player, however, could manage a one-putt for eagle.
As I believe I may have mentioned, the greens have been tough to read. According to Coach Grogan, there's so much "undulation" that anything longer than 20 feet is a good two-putt.
Then, on the par-3 hole 17, I thought I was going to witness my first hole-in-one ... the the ball hit off the tee by the EKU kid skipped right over the cup. It was that close. He ended up about five feet from the pin. Next up was Van Sickle, whose ball didn't land quite as close to the pin, but ended up just a few inches closer than his EKU counterpart. Each player would par the hole.
Kelly Kretz had a nice one-putt for birdie on hole 12 after his second shot ended up on the hole 13 tee box.
Speaking with Grogan, the players understand they need to focus in a little better, and they have steadily been making some improvements. As he said, it's 54 holes, so we'll see what happens tomorrow and Saturday.
That's it for now. A complete recap will be available on GoMarquette.com a little later this afternoon.
- LL
Thursday, May 15, 2008 (10:33 a.m. EST) As expected, there are some high scores all around to begin our first day of action. The first few holes for the MU players were particularly rough, but spirits remain high as everyone realizes there's a lot of golf left to play.
The two best shots I saw all day were a 17-foot birdie put by Schwab on the par-5 hole six, and a holed shot out of the bunker on the same hole by an Eastern Kentucky player. The greens are playing fast, but Bielawski left a par putt short on hole three after the two players he was paired with blasted their first putts five feet past the hole.
Temperatures are warming a bit as the sun has come out here and there; some players are now down to short sleeves.
The guys are just making the turn now. Kelly Kretz is getting ready to tee off on hole 10.
- LL
Thursday, May 15, 2008 (7:42 a.m. EST) Dusty was just exiting the putting green as I was walking into the clubhouse to provide this update. He will tee off in a few minutes, followed by his teammates.
It was windy when I woke up this morning, but it seems the winds have died down a little bit. Rain is in the forecast for later today. All the guys should be done with their rounds by the time it gets here.
I was wrong with my update last night, and the MU players will be teeing off on hole one today. I'll have a few spotters out on the course, including myself, so I hope to provide regular updates -- stuff you can't get off of the live scoring at Golfstat.
I took some pictures yesterday, but had trouble trying to download them to my computer. If I can get that to work, I"ll post a photo gallery with pictures from today and throughout the tournament.
Cheers, LL
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (9:37 p.m. EST) Well the team just got back to the hotel from dinner. You could tell everyone was exhausted, so the consensus among the players was to get to sleep as soon as possible and wake up refreshed tomorrow, ready to play.
At dinner a few players were watching NBA basketball, while other players spent time comparing notes and studying pin locations. From what I was able to gather, it sounds like hole #4 has the potential to pose the most problems for the field. Most players will be forced to lay-up on the 586-yard par-5, because the green wouldn't hold a long approach shot. Holes 12 and 14 were also mentioned as ones that will challenge the best players.
One final note before I close shop for the evening -- Mike Van Sickle was one of two players to advance through his local U.S. Open qualifier and, like teammate Mike Bielawski, has earned a trip to a sectional qualifier. Van Sickle finished second place with a one-under par 70 in Blairsville, Pa.
The team will be departing the hotel around 6:30 a.m. for tomorrow's opening round.
- LL
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (6:48 p.m. EST) Although we pretty much knew what Marquette's lineup was going to be, coaches did not have to turn in their respective lineups until today. So pairings/tee times (PDF) are now official for Thursday's first round:
#5) Dustin Schwab - 7:47 a.m.
#4) Kelly Kretz - 7:57 a.m.
#3) Michael Bielawski - 8:06 a.m.
#2) Ted Gray - 8:16 a.m.
#1) Mike Van Sickle - 8:25 a.m.
Marquette will be paired with players from Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Michigan. Those groups will start at hole 10.
A reminder that in addition to the blog, live hole-by-hole scoring is available through Golfstat. Click here for a link to live scoring and a complete tournament preview.
- LL
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (4:24 p.m. EST) After starting their practice round on hole 10, the team made their turn about an hour ago. It was their first glimpse of the course and it's as long and as unforgiving as advertised and the bunkers our huge. Ted Gray also mentioned that the windy, wet conditions made things even more difficult, but all the players seemed to be adjusting well to the course.
Kelly Kretz had a nice eagle on hole 12. His drive on the par-5 wound up in a left-side bunker and his next shot lay about 100 yards short of the pin. Kretz used a sand wedge on his third shot. The ball skipped a couple of times before rolling into the cup. The shot received a nice "golf clap" from some spectators on the course.
We received a visit today from Eddie Erkmanis, a Marquette golf alum, who is currently working in the Columbus area. Eddie spent a few hours walking the course with us and will be around Thursday and Friday to watch some of the competition.
In case you were wondering, as was I ... Yes, there are Buckeye trees on the course. A gentleman volunteering here told me the most prolific Buckeye he's ever seen is located on hole 11 (I guess I didn't notice). He also told me a story of how people sneak into the grounds at night to collect all of the nuts that have fallen from the tree. For those of you who don't know, Buckeye nuts are supposed to be considered lucky.
- LL
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (12:03 p.m. EST) We just arrived at The Scarlet golf course. The rain has subsided for now, but the wind has steadily picked up since earlier this morning -- that has helped dry things up a little bit.
With 27 teams (over 135 participants) and countless numbers of volunteers helping run the tournament, the clubhouse and practice green were particularly busy around 11 a.m. when we arrived. The guys are on the driving range now ... I can them from the top level of the clubhouse, where the tournament headquarters is located in a large boardroom. The team will tee off in about 15 minutes for their practice round. I'll try to snag some pictures and have some posted later today or tomorrow.
Everybody seems real loose and confident heading into the tournament. There's a lot of good competition here. It should be fun to watch it all unfold in the days to come.
- LL
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (8:15 a.m. EST)
Good morning from Columbus, Ohio. Well today promises to be a long day for the team. It looks like rain and the local forecast calls for it throughout the day with temperatures in the upper 60s.
Our flight didn't touch down in Columbus until a little after 1 a.m. (EST) last evening and it was nearly 3 a.m. by the time we got the rental cars, checked into the hotel and turned in for the night. Due to weather in Chicago -- heavy winds from what I gathered -- many flights were delayed or cancelled. We actually de-boarded our plane in Milwaukee, later to be told we'd be flying out this morning, only to get back on the plane five minutes after we were told that.
Rather than get into any further (as I'm sure we've all had travel-related issues) the main thing is we arrived at our destination and arrived there safely ... for that, the service people at the airline deserve a "thank you."
Because we arrived so late, the team will sleep in and depart the hotel around 11 a.m. for their 12:20 p.m. practice round at the golf course. Jim Nasiopulos, associate athletic director, and I will be heading to course a little earlier to catch our bearings. In addition to the five players -- Mike Bielawski, Ted Gray, Mike Van Sickle, Dustin Schwab and Kelly Kretz -- and head coach Tim Grogan, assistant men's golf coach Joe Weber made the trip.
Also, congrats to Mike Bielawski, who yesterday won the local U.S. Open qualifier with a four-under par 68 at Blue Mound. He will now advance to a sectional qualifier in a few weeks.
That's all for now. Please check back throughout the day for updates. As I close out this entry, I notice a light rain has begun the fall. Hopefully, the guys will be able to swing the clubs at some point today.
- LL
Monday, May 12, 2008 (9:50 a.m.)
Greetings Golden Eagles fans,
Beginning Wednesday (May 14) morning, I will be blogging live from The Scarlet course in Columbus, Ohio. Several times each day, I hope to provide you with insight of the competition, in addition to observations on and off the golf course. I'm sure I'll also manage to get an interview or two from the players and Coach Grogan.
You may not be able to travel with the team, but I'll try to get you as close to the action as possible.
That's it for now. Take care until next time.
Regards,
Luke LeNoble
Assistant Director, Athletic Media Relations
Players Mentioned
