Van Sickle claimed his average drive goes about 290 yards. Junior Ted Gray said Van Sickle averages 300-plus off the tee.,”Exactly how far does Mike Van Sickle hit the ball? The Marquette golf team lacks a consensus but agrees on one thing: Van Sickle bombs it with his driver.

Van Sickle claimed his average drive goes about 290 yards. Junior Ted Gray said Van Sickle averages 300-plus off the tee. Junior Mike Bielawski figured Van Sickle's average tee shot was around 310 or 315. Chris Streff simply said his fellow sophomore carries the ball 300 yards.

"About a quarter of them go about 320 or 330," Van Sickle said, dwarfing his previous 290-yard allegation. "That's only if I catch them right, though."

Passing the big hitter on the way to class, one would never know he's the face of Marquette golf. At 6 feet tall, Van Sickle falls short of being intimidating. Not that all golfers require stature, but big drives normally come off the club face of bigger players.

"I get the most out of my body," said the Wexford, Pa., native, who generates a club head speed of 125 mph. "I work on rotating my hands through impact and ball striking."

Apparently that combination works. Every Marquette golfer remembers a specific instance when Van Sickle left others amazed at his distance.

"On par-5s that Mike will hit driver, 3-wood and hit the green, the rest of the team will hit driver, 3-wood, pitching wedge," Bielawski said. "He just has all the pieces to the puzzle. He's not only longer than the average player, he's straighter, and that's a rare combination."

Gray added: "He's always hitting two or three clubs less than the rest of us. It's a big difference when he has a 7-iron in his hands and everyone else is hitting a 4- or 5-iron."

Van Sickle's range also forces him to make adjustments many players never have to consider.

"On doglegs, the angle he takes to cut them is just incredible," Streff said. "On one turning left, he might aim 40 yards to the left of his playing partners. Sometimes you want to ask him where he's looking, but he has to pick that line to find the fairway."

The team's Sunday practice round at Washington County provided a couple stories in itself.

"He hit a pitching wedge into a par-5," Gray said with a laugh. "We might have been a little downwind, but the next closest approach iron was a seven."

Streff added: "On one hole, Mike smoked his drive, and I didn't hit mine that bad." When Streff reached his ball, he hit a lob wedge in humor. The shot landed right next to Van Sickle's drive – 70 yards down the fairway.

Van Sickle also wields a short game. He dramatically improved his putting over the past year, and lower scores followed.

He opened the spring season with three straight wins, the first time a Marquette golfer had accomplished the feat. Golf World magazine named him national player of the week. For this, he stands among the elite heading into the Big East Championship in Louisville, Ky., Sunday.

Maybe we should have expected Van Sickle's golfing prowess. His father, Gary, is a senior golf writer for Sports Illustrated.

"When we were recruiting him, we looked for a connection to Marquette or Milwaukee," coach Tim Grogan said of the only non-Wisconsin native on the team. "With Mike, we had two."

Mike's mother, Betsy, was sports information director at Marquette during the Hank Raymonds basketball era. Before moving onto Golf World and Sports Illustrated, Gary wrote for the Milwaukee Journal.

With Milwaukee blood in him and outstanding talent, what does Van Sickle lack? Style, according to his teammates.

"He must dress with the lights off because his clothes don't come close to matching," Gray said. "We pick on him for it, but he takes it well."

Streff added: "He'll wear a lime green hat, a dark blue shirt, black shorts and white shoes. Whatever he throws on, it's pretty loud."

As one would expect, it's hard for his teammates to razz him too much with his play of late. As a freshman on last year's senior-dominated team, Van Sickle exuded more of a shy persona – but he pulled a 180 in the offseason.

"I think he's more able to be himself this year," Streff said.

"We're closer this year as a team," Bielawski said. "Mike's definitely a sort of class clown. He has some stupid jokes, but he's a funny guy. That's just part of the team."

Acknowledging an improvement in team chemistry, Van Sickle laughed when asked how his role changed from last year.

"I don't have to pick up condiments for everybody at fast food restaurants anymore," he said, remembering his freshman duties.

These days, he merely picks up his tee after a booming shot.

Big East Championship preview

Three Teams to Watch:

1. Notre Dame: Down 12 strokes heading into last year's final round, the Irish made up the margin and beat Louisville in a sudden-death playoff.

2. Louisville: Last year's runner-up will be playing on its home course.

3. Marquette: The Golden Eagles finished in third place last year, 19 strokes clear of fourth.

Dark horse: Get real … the three above teams play at another level in comparison with the rest of the conference.

Three Players to Watch:

1. Derek Fathauer, Louisville: He won the individual title last year. He finished in the top 10 in six of eight spring events, including two wins.

2. Mike Van Sickle, Marquette: Riding a string of seven straight top-10 finishes, including three wins earlier this spring.

3. Keegan Bradley, St. John's: A top-three finish in the Big East Championship last year wasn't bad, and this spring Bradley has two wins and a runner-up finish to his credit.

Dark horse: Daryl Fathauer, Louisville: Though overshadowed by his twin brother Derek, Daryl was named Conference USA freshman of the year in 2004.

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