MU Second After First Round at BIG EAST Championships

April 29, 2018

CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. - Freshman Hunter Eichhorn went 4-under-par on the back nine on the way to an opening round 69, tied for the first place spot, while defending champion Marquette (2-over-par, 290) sits a shot out of first after 18 holes at the 2018 BIG EAST Men's Golf Championships.

Second-place Marquette and first-place Georgetown (1-over-par, 289) are 20 shots clear of the rest of the nine team field after Sunday's play on the Par 72, 6,993-yard course at Callawassie Island G.C.

Matt Murlick used a bogey-free, 3-under-par start to shoot an opening round 70, one shot off the lead and tied for third place.

After opening to a combined 9-over-par on the front nine, the top-seeded Golden Eagles lowered their back nine score to 2-under-par thanks to 10 birdies, Eichorn's 4-under-par play and Oliver Farrell's 2-under-par effort coming in. Farrell went bogey-free after a 5-over-par start through 7 holes, and is tied for 14th after shooting a 75 on Sunday.

"Our 'good' is pretty good," head coach Steve Bailey said. "On days where we're not hitting it the best, all I'm ever going to ask is that we compete. The way we finished is what's going to carry over to tomorrow."

Eichhorn hit the shot of the day for Marquette, burying a birdie putt from beyond 25 feet on the Par 4 16th hole.

Shot of the day - @HunterEichhorn drops the 💣from deep on the Par 4 No. 16 green for the 🐥. He is the 18-hole leader at 3-under-par. @BIGEASTchamps pic.twitter.com/agLiKtouXB
- Marquette Golf (@MarquetteMGolf) April 29, 2018

On the 384-yard Par 4 18th hole, Eichhorn hit his tee shot left of the fairway and faced a second shot from an uphill lie in the rough and more than 150 yards to the hole. Eichhorn stuck the approach shot five feet from the front-of-the-green hole location and then knocked the short birdie putt in to wrap up his first BIG EAST Championship round.

"That's who he is - the bigger the stage, he turns his game up," Bailey said. "Number 17 was a great example - he comes off the birdie, hits a 3-wood in the water, and ends up hitting the drop to 10 feet. That says a lot about who he is."

The 45-player-field averaged a 78.36 opening round score. Winds picked up on the back nine to 15 miles per hour.

"I feel really happy about today - I was really impressed with our fight," Bailey said. "This place isn't easy, but to make that many birdies on the back nine and give yourself opportunities is all I can ask."

Marquette tees off the second round with its same playing partners from Sunday - Georgetown and Seton Hall. Round two gets under way for the Golden Eagles at 8:40 a.m. CT on Monday.