WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – Xavier Marcoux was left speechless on Tuesday.
After his first-ever individual first-place finish at the Old Town Club Collegiate at Wake Forest University, the senior captain hoisted the trophy on the 18
th hole representing RU's first individual win since the PGA Tour's Chris Gotterup finished in first at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic three seasons ago on Oct. 8, 2019.
Marcoux was awarded the Big Ten Golfer of the Week Award on Wednesday afternoon. Marcoux recorded 47 of 54 holes at or below par, highlighted by a tournament-leading 17 birdies, en route to his first career individual title. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree collected his first career Golfer of the Week honor Wednesday. The last Rutgers Golfer of the Week was Gotterup on March 24, 2021.
"There are no words," Marcoux said. "I really am kind of speechless. It's just a great moment. I hope we can get a team-win soon, because honestly that would mean more."
Marcoux finished tied for first place with Will Morlan of Furman University with a (-10) score through three rounds. Marcoux shot a clean 200 through three rounds, after shooting a 69 on Sunday, a 66 on Monday and finishing with a third round best shooting a 65 on Tuesday.
"It means a lot to me," Marcoux said of his first-place finish. "It's been a lot of work just with all the guys. We are all getting better and wearing that 'R' on our chest. I feel really good about where the program is going and to get it done means a lot. It's not just for me, it's for the University and for the state of New Jersey."
Following the victory, Marcoux harped on how his eighth-place finish last week in Minnesota at the Gopher Invitational fueled this performance since he felt he should have finished stronger.
The senior recalled a moment with head men's golf coach
Rob Shutte on Tuesday which he used as motivation in the win. Shutte found him in the midst of his third round performance and reminded him that he had the ability to close this one out on top.
"We knew that I was real close to a breakout," Marcoux said. "Coach Shutte kept telling me that I was really, really close. It almost happened in Minnesota. After he pulled me over, it meant a lot because he's been with me every step of the way since I have been at Rutgers."
Marcoux said the biggest hole of the round for him was when he was able to avoid a bogey and par on the eighth hole.
"I hit a hazard and then I was able to get through bogey-free which kind of kept some momentum going," Marcoux said. "From there, I just regrouped and was able to play really well on the back-9 and win."
The Scarlet Knights as a team had the best finish of the year as they wrapped up on Tuesday in fifth place. The team shot a combined (-5) finishing behind Kansas State (-12), Wake Forest (-11), Furman (-9) and Penn State (-7).
The Scarlet Knights had multiple impressive finishes including one from co-senior captain
Luke Wells, who finished in 12th place with a score of (-2). Wells finished strong on the final day alongside Marcoux with a score of (-3) on Tuesday. Junior
Rhett Sellers finished tied for 28th place (+2), sophomore
Weston Jones finished tied for 42nd (+6), and
Noah Kumar finished in 59th (+14).
The team will head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday to compete in the Marquette Intercollegiate, with just two more events to close out the fall before the spring season begins.
"We are a really solid team this year and I think pushing in the Regionals and Nationals is a very possible goal for us this year. We just have to get five guys rolling and we need to believe that we can do it."
2022-23 Big Ten Men's Golfers of the Week
Sept. 7: Ben Hoagland, Jr., MICH
Sept. 14: Clayton Tribus, Gr., WIS
Sept. 21: Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Sr., ILL
Sept. 28:
Xavier Marcoux, Sr., RU
Final Results - Old Town Club Collegiate
