Marquette golfers may have been the only students on campus this week who were glad their fall break was over.
Finishing their East Coast swing, the Golden Eagles finished eighth at the 54-hole 49er Collegiate, shooting 61-over, 925. Senior Nathan Colson recorded the top finish for Marquette, 12th individually, with a 10-over 226. Senior Joe Weber shot 12-over, 228, good for 17th.
Led by junior Ray Sheedy's performance, host Charlotte ran away with the tournament and won by 20 strokes, shooting 20-over, 884. Sheedy won the individual title by nine strokes, and was the only player to finish the event under par, shooting four-under, 212.
Wet and cold conditions led to "uncharacteristically high scores" for the entire field, senior Kyle Murphy said.
Undulating greens with difficult pins placements also played a part in the high scoring.
"Considering the course, the pin placements, and the weather conditions, this was easily the most difficult course I've played in my entire life," said freshman Mike Van Sickle.
Marquette, coming straight from a tournament in Washington, D.C., arrived in Charlotte late Sunday. With the first two rounds scheduled to start early Monday, the team missed the opportunity for a practice round.
"We were just in time to grab a cart and drive around the entire course," Van Sickle said. "That probably cost us a couple strokes."
Marquette didn't want to use the circumstances as an excuse, however.
"They are difficult conditions to play in, but you can't concentrate on it," Murphy said.
Van Sickle was 17-over, 233; and sophomore Ted Gray shot 22-over, 238. Murphy, who had a second-place finish over the weekend, rounded out Marquette scores at 26-over, 242.
The 49er Collegiate, along with the Hoya Invitational Saturday and Sunday, finished Marquette's difficult stretch of two tournaments and five cold rounds of golf in four straight days.
Marquette finished third at the Hoya Invitational, but the burden of 90 holes of golf seemed to take its toll in Charlotte.
The golf team ends its fall season Nov. 5-6, hosting the Big East/Mid-American Conference Challenge in Winter Garden, Fla.
"Everyone is going to be jacked up for the last tournament of the season, regardless of how we did this tournament," Murphy said.
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 27, 2005.