DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Ready for BIG EAST Championship at Innisbrook
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S GOLF
CHICAGO - The DePaul golf team heads to Palm Harbor, Fla. for the 2010 BIG EAST Championship. The annual conference event features three rounds over three days starting on Sunday, April 18 at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club. A year ago, the Blue Demons finished seventh out of the 12 teams competing at the BIG EAST Championship.
The event takes place at the 7,340-yard, par-71 Copperhead course at Innisbrook. The course was host to the PGA Tour's Transition Championship in March 2010 won by Jim Furyk.
Play begins at 8 a.m. ET each day and a blind draw was held to seed the 12 BIG EAST teams. The fourth-seeded Blue Demons tee off from 9:40 to 10:20 a.m. in Sunday's first round.
Live scoring will be used for the tournament and can be viewed at GolfStat.com.
DePaul's lineup for the BIG EAST Championship features Greg Doherty, Michael Furci, Ben Westley, Charles Boucher and Russell Budd.
DePaul in the BIG EAST Championship: DePaul's best BIG EAST finish was a fifth-place showing in 2007... the Blue Demons have finished seventh in each of the last two years and were eighth in 2006... Greg Doherty has led the Blue Demons in two of his three BIG EAST Championship appearances... Doherty owns DePaul's top finish with by finishing in a tie for eighth in 2007... he posted a tournament total of 214 (-2) for the best BIG EAST Championship total by a Blue Demon... Doherty was also the top finisher in a tie for 14th in 2008.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul has posted top five team finishes in five of 11 events this season... the Blue Demons have placed four or fifth in each of the three of the last four tournaments... Michael Furci leads the team with a 74.25 scoring average... Furci also has six top 25 finishes this season that includes four top 10 showings... Ben Westley is second on the team with a scoring average of 74.52... he has posted DePaul's top finish in three of six events this Spring... Russell Budd's 67 in the first round of the Xavier Invitational on Oct. 5 is the best round by a Blue Demon this season... Budd and Greg Doherty have carded three rounds of 70 or better to lead the team... DePaul is ranked No. 156 nationally in the latest Golfweek (April 16) rankings and No. 157 in the GolfStat (April 14) rankings.
Spring Review: Red Wolf Classic (April 12-13) - Greg Doherty shot a 69 and 70 in the final two rounds to lead DePaul in Jonesboro, Ark... he finished in a tie for 31st with a tournament total of 220 (+4)... DePaul was 18th among 18 teams competing. adidas Hoosier Invitational (April 3-4) - Greg Doherty and Michael Furci finished in a tie for 21st as DePaul finished fourth among 19 teams... just three strokes separated all five DePaul golfers as Charles Boucher and Ben Westley finished in 31st and Russell Budd was in a group in 35th place... Doherty and Furci totaled 221 (+8) to lead the Blue Demons in Bloomington, Ind. BSU Cardinal Collegiate (Mar. 27-28) - Ben Westley placed third and Michael Furci was in a tie for 19th as DePaul finished fifth out of 15 teams... Westley carded a three-over 219 (70-75-74)... the tournament hosted by Ball State was at Sultan's Run GC in Jasper, Ind. C&F Bank Intercollegiate (Mar. 22-23) - Michael Furci finished in a tie for 10th while the team was tied for fifth among 22 teams in Williamsburg, Va... Furci finished at three-over par (145) and was followed by Greg Doherty and Ben Westley at six-over in a group in 24th place. USF Invitational (Mar. 5-7) - The Blue Demons finished in a tie for 17th among the 23 teams... Ben Westley was the top finisher in a group in 50th place. He finished the tournament with a seven-over total of 223. Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate (Feb. 22-23) - DePaul opened the Spring campaign with a sixth-place showing in Hilton Head, S.C... Ben Westley and Michael Furci led the way with a pair of top 10 finishes as DePaul took sixth out of 17 teams... Westley finished in a tie for third with rounds of 70 and 73 while Furci finished in a group in sixth with a 74 followed by a 70.
Fall Recap: Highlighting the Fall schedule was the team title at the John Dallio Memorial on Sept. 27 and 28. Greg Doherty birdied three of his last four holes to come from behind and win the individual title while leading the Blue Demons to the team crown at Ruffled Feathers GC. Doherty fired a three-round total of 217 to finish a stroke ahead of teammate Charles Boucher, Western Illinois' Kyle Peterman and David Byrne from Detroit.
The Match Play concluded the Fall portion of the 2009-10 schedule as the Blue Demons finished fourth among the 11 BIG EAST programs competing. DePaul was eighth of 17 teams at the Adams Cup of Newport before winning the John Dallio Memorial.
Doherty led the team with a 73.91 stroke average followed by Russell Budd (74.46) and Michael Furci (74.82). Furci posted a pair of top 10 finishes while Russell Budd's 67 in the first round of the Xavier Invitational was the best round of the season.
