For as many final rounds that Mike Van Sickle has played while in contention for a title, this one had just a little more drama than usual.
Van Sickle was down two strokes to both Virginia Commonwealth's Vincent Nadeau and Louisville's Riley Wheeldon heading into the final round of the Palisades Collegiate Classic. He was grouped with both to start the round. The pressure was not enough to shake Marquette's All-American, as he rallied to take home his 11th career collegiate title Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C.
Van Sickle's final round 6-under 66 capped a dominant 54-hole stretch in which he had only four bogeys and set a new tournament record with a 16-under total of 200 — one stroke off his personal best score for three rounds.
"This tournament was kind of a special opportunity for me," Van Sickle said. "Going into the final round with the three guys in contention, we got to know where everyone stood and feel the pressure of knowing the situation, which in college golf is kind of a rarity. It was kind of a 'mano y mano' ordeal out there. I guess I just had more 'mano.'"
Coach Tim Grogan said that while he's used to Van Sickle's heroics, they never fail to impress.
"It was such a solid tournament from start to finish," Grogan said. "The 66 the last day was even better than (Monday's) 65 because the pins were a little more difficult. You definitely shouldn't take for granted his ability to come from behind like that, but he has a confidence that he knows he's going to do it and I think even the people behind him know it."
The Golden Eagles as a team finished third in the tournament — their best finish thus far in the spring season. Dustin Schwab concluded a solid all-around tournament Tuesday with a 1-over 73 to finish with a 1-under 215 for the tournament and a tie for 16th place. Ben Sieg was the only Marquette scorer to struggle Tuesday, finishing with a 79. Sieg finished in a tie for 30th at 4-over-par 220.
"We're definitely playing better now than we have in the last couple of tournaments," Schwab said. "But there's still a little scoring things that hopefully we can take care of."
Van Sickle won't have long to relish his victory. Marquette heads south again Friday to defend its title at the 2009 Big East Championships at Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City, Fla. It's the same course in which the team finished 6th at the USF/Ron Smith Invitational in early March.
"Personally I like playing events consecutively," Schwab said. "It gives you time to take a day off and work on a few things then go right back at it. Plus, it's a course that fits us pretty well."
Van Sickle said the win in Charlotte gives him a lot of confidence heading into the conference tournament, where he finished in a tie for fourth last season.
"It was a morale boost for myself, just knowing the work I've been putting in this spring has finally been coming around," he said. "When I shot 65 in the last round at (the Spring Break Championships) I knew I was doing the right things, then I went into this week and everything went well. Now I just hope to post some numbers and go out and defend our Big East Championship."