Today the Marquette golf team will finish up competition in the inaugural two-day Lexus Naples Intercollegiate Invitational at Hammock Bay Golf and Country Club in Naples, Fla.
The three round, 54-hole tournament, which started Monday, consists of 12 teams from around the country.
The tournament will give Marquette, No. 16 in the 4th district, an opportunity to go up against two of the better teams in its district. Wisconsin currently stands at No. 10 in the district, while Illinois is ranked No. 12, based on the Golfweek/Sagarin Men's District Rankings.
Marquette beat Wisconsin earlier in the spring season with a 13-stroke victory at the St. Croix Collegiate Classic. The two rivals will also face off March 25 in a head-to-head match in Orlando, Fla.
Peter Jacobsen, a 30-year veteran of the PGA Tour who currently hosts the Golf Channel's "Peter Jacobsen Plugged In," hosts the tournament. His own production company, Peter Jacobsen Productions, Inc. will run the Naples Invitational.
Florida Gulf Coast University is the host school for the tournament.
"This will be one of the most unique and prestigious collegiate competitions in the entire country," Jacobsen said in a statement prior to play. "I am looking forward to the first year, as well as continuing to grow the tournament for years to come."
Jacobsen will "put on a clinic for the players and meet all the players individually," said Marquette head coach Tim Grogan. "From that end I think it will be a good experience for the guys."
After the first day Marquette is in sixth place.
In the first round the team shot a 288 — good for third overall, only trailing Portland and Baylor, but then fell three spots after finishing the second round with a score of 291.
Marquette stands at three-over par, with a team score of 579 heading into the final day of competition. Baylor set the pace for the first day, shooting five-under par with a team score of 571.
District foe Illinois has a two-stroke lead on Marquette, while Wisconsin is only one stroke ahead of Marquette after two rounds.
Mike McCabe from Portland leads all individual scores with an eight-under par after his first two rounds.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 15 2005.