Eastern duo tied for eighth to pace the Eagles in a wind-swept event in Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men’s golf team battled a strong field and even stronger winds as they finished second at the All-American Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Houston at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas, March 16-17. All five of the Eagles in the field placed among the top 25, including Leo Mihaich and Robby Turnbull, who tied for eighth to lead the charge.
The tournament was won by No. 4 University of Arkansas, who shot 18-over 882 over two days in conditions that saw winds strong enough on the first day (March 16) that the airports in Houston were temporarily closed. The Eagles, ranked No. 104 in the latest Scoreboard/Clippd rankings, were second at 30-over 894 (302-297-295) with Tarleton State University third at 35-over 899. The Eagles placed ahead of four teams ranked higher nationally, including No. 61 Houston, who was fifth at 49-over 913; No. 49 Rice University and No. 79 University of Nebraska, both of whom tied for sixth at 50-over 914; and No. 101 Texas State University, who was ninth at 51-over 915.
Individually, Mihaich (Bell Ville, Argentina/Figuero Alcorta Normal School/Oklahoma Christian) and Turnbull (Auckland, New Zealand/Selwyn College) tied for eighth with Mihaich (77-73-73) and Turnbull (74-74-75) both shooting 7-over 223. Mihaich, in only his second tournament for Eastern, posted his best finish with the program and his 26th career top 10 showing while Turnbull placed in the top 10 for the second consecutive tournament after he tied for sixth at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17). Additionally, Turnbull, ranked No. 527 entering the tournament, placed ahead of 22 players ranked higher nationally. Mihaich is not ranked currently as seven rounds are needed for a player to earn a national ranking.
Joshua Hess (Schattdorf, Switzerland/Montverde Academy (Fla.)) tied for 15th at 10-over 226 (77-75-74) to post his third consecutive top 15 finish. He started his streak by tying for 10th at the Pearl at Kalauao Invitational in November before tying for 12th at the Hal Williams Collegiate. Charlie Box (Leicester, England/Wreake Valley Academy/Hutchinson CC) and Rory McDonald-O’Brien (Shrewsbury, England/Shrewsbury School/USC-Aiken) rounded out the five Eagles in the field as the duo tied for 22nd at 12-over 228 in the event played on the Tournament Course.
The team event was not the only tournament played at the Golf Club of Houston as an individual event was held simultaneously on the Members Course (par 72, 7,508 yards) where Tim Chan (Hong Kong, China/Loretto School/VCU) finished third overall in the 33 player field. Chan was among the top three in the standings throughout the event as he shot 6-over 222 (73-72-77) with Luke Haskew of LSU winning the event at 1-over 217 and No. 178 Niilo Maki-Pateja of Arkansas taking second at 2-over 218. Chan carded nine birdies (tied for third-most) while tying for second among all players with the fewest bogies or worse with 13.
Individual Notes
» Robby Turnbull posted his second consecutive top 10 finish as the rookie tied for sixth one month ago at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Mobile, Ala. (Feb. 16-17). Turnbull, who was named the Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Week following his play in Alabama, is currently ranked No. 527 in the March 11 Scoreboard/Clippd rankings and finished ahead of 22 players ranked higher than him, including four players in the national top 100 (No. 42 Hudson Weibel of Houston; No. 59 Gerardo Gomez of Arkansas; No. 69 Rudy Sautron of Nebraska; and No. 87 Lukas Boadni of Rice).
» Leo Mihaich tied for eighth in just his second event for the Eagles, improving by 33 places over his tie for 41st at the Pearl at Kalauao Invitational in early November. The top 10 finish was the 26th of his collegiate career and his first since he won the Lone Star Conference Championship (April 14-15, 2025) for Oklahoma Christian.
» Joshua Hess posted his third consecutive top 15 finish as he tied for 15th. His streak began in Hawai’i where he tied for 10th at the Pearl at Kalauao Invitational before tying for 12th at the Hal Williams Collegiate one month ago.
Team Notes
» The only team to finish ahead of Eastern was Arkansas, who is currently ranked No. 4 nationally in the Scoreboard/Clippd rankings. According to those lists, the No. 104 Eagles finished ahead of four teams ranked higher, including No. 61 Houston, who was fifth, both No. 49 Rice and No. 79 Nebraska, who tied for sixth, and No. 101 Texas State, who was ninth.
» Eastern has now defeated nine teams ranked ahead of it in the last three tournaments, including both Rice and Nebraska in back-to-back events. The then-No. 122 Eagles finished ahead of No. 53 Rice (11th) and No. 67 Nebraska (tied for fifth) at the Hal Williams Collegiate one month ago (Feb. 16-17).
Up Next
Two events await the Eagles in California next week, starting with the 2026 Bridgestone Collegiate at Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif., March 23-24. The trip ends with The Goodwin at Stanford Golf Club in Stanford, Calif., March 26-28.
Results
2026 All-American Intercollegiate
Golf Club of Houston – Tournament Course • Humble, Texas
Monday-Tuesday, March 16-17, 2026
Par 72 • 7,422 yards
FINAL Team Standings
1. Arkansas [#4] • 298-299-285=882 (+18)
2. EASTERN MICHIGAN • 302-297-295=894 (+30)
3. Tarleton State • 305-296-298=899 (+35)
4. Abilene Christian • 315-301-290=906 (+42)
5. Houston [#61] • 313-315-285=913 (+49)
t6. North Texas • 311-304-299=914 (+50)
t6. Rice [#49] • 311-305-298=914 (+50)
t6. Nebraska [#79] • 319-306-289=914 (+50)
9. Texas State • 313-311-291=915 (+51)
10. UTRGV • 315-305-298=918 (+54)
11. Lamar • 314-310-297=921 (+57)
12. Sam Houston • 316-318-290=924 (+60)
13. Louisiana Monroe • 311-311-305=927 (+63)
14. UT Arlington • 323-304-301=928 (+64)
15. Odessa [NJCAA #2] • 323-314-300=937 (+73)
16. Houston Christian • 321-315-313=949 (+85)
Top 100 rankings (March 11 Scoreboard/Clippd) listed
Individual Results (Top 10)
1. Alvaro Pastor (Tarleton State) • 77-66-71=214 (-2)
2. Erich Fortiage (Arkansas)[#18] • 72-80-67=219 (+3)
3. Arth Sinha (UT Arlington) • 78-71-71=220 (+4)
t4. John Daly II (Arkansas)[#63] • 78-72-71=221 (+5)
t4. Tres Hill (Abilene Christian) • 79-72-70=221 (+5)
t6. Thomas Curry (Arkansas)[#66] • 77-72-73=222 (+6)
t6. Juan Ballester (Tarleton State) • 77-74-71=222 (+6)
t8. Robby Turnbull (EMU) • 74-74-75=223 (+7)
t8. Leo Mahaich (EMU) • 77-73-73=223 (+7)
t8. Alex Malanga (Sam Houston) • 76-78-69=223 (+7)
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t15. Joshua Hess • 77-75-74=226 (+10)
t22. Charlie Box • 74-79-75=228 (+12)
t22. Rory McDonald-O’Brien • 80-75-73=228 (+12)
* competed as an individual
Top 200 individual rankings (March 11 Scoreboard/Clippd) listed
2026 All-American Intercollegiate
Golf Club of Houston – Members Course • Humble, Texas
Monday-Tuesday, March 16-17, 2026
Par 72 • 7,508 yards
Individual Results (Top 10)
1. Luke Haskew (LSU) • 69-76-72=217 (+1)
2. Niilo Maki-Pateja (Arkansas)[#178] • 72-74-72=218 (+2)
3. Tim Chan (EMU) • 73-72-77=222 (+6)
4. Bryant Hiskey II (Houston) • 76-76-72=224 (+8)
5. Preston Cooper (Abilene Christian) • 78-76-74=228 (+12)
6. Hudson Lawon (LSU)[#223] • 81-79-70=230 (+14)
7. Jack Hollingsed (Abilene Christian) • 75-79-77=231 (+15)
8. Brock Porter (UTRGV) • 79-79-74=232 (+16)
t9. Drew Ironside (Tarleton State) • 80-78-75=233 (+17)
t9. Rafael Estrada (North Texas) • 77-77-79=233 (+17)
Top 250 individual rankings (March 11 Scoreboard/Clippd) listed
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