During spring break the Marquette golfers shed their winter coats and went down south in search of warmer weather and the opportunity to get on the golf course.

And play they did, capping a 10-day marathon Tuesday that included two different tournaments and a head-to-head match with Wisconsin.

The extended trip got off to a rocky start at the difficult El Diablo Intercollegiate in Citrus Springs, Fla. Prior to play, head coach Tim Grogan pointed to this tournament as a chance at "redemption" from last year's 10th place finish. The Golden Eagles did not redeem themselves and finished in 12th place, shooting a 74-over-par (311-308-319-938).

"It's just a hard golf course and our team just wasn't mentally there," junior Kyle Murphy said.

Murphy led the Golden Eagles and shot an 11-over-par for the tournament. After shooting a 79 in the first round, Murphy had the best round, shooting one-over par. He closed out play with a 75, placing him 15th.

Freshman Ted Gray had the second best individual performance, shooting an 18-over-par.

Sophomore Michael Bielawski led the team after the first two rounds of play and was only four strokes off the lead with a score of five-over par. But on the last day of competition, Bielawski struggled, shooting 86 and finishing 19-over-par for the tournament.

Next came a trip to Orlando, Fla. to play intra-state rival Wisconsin at the Orange County National golf course March 25. Marquette lost by eight strokes, shooting five-over-par to Wisconsin's 3-under-par.

Junior Joe Weber led all Marquette golfers with a score of 71, tied for the second best in the match.

The last stop was the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, in Pinehurst, N.C., March 28-29.

After two rounds with scores of 303 and 296, Marquette was tied for fourth place with Southern Mississippi at 23 over par and was 13 strokes off leader Southern Methodist.

In the last round, Marquette shot a 300 (12-over-par) as a team and finished in fourth place with a final score of 899 (35-over-par). Weber finished 9th overall, shooting six-over-par.

Junior Steve Sass and Bielawski were tied for 22nd overall, both shooting 229, 13-over-par.

"We definitely did not play our best golf," Murphy said. "But it showed us when we are there physically and mentally, we are tough to beat."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on March 31 2005.