West Bay Collegiate Awaits Men’s Golf in Florida

2025 WEST BAY COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Date	Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 6-7, 2025
Info Hub	EMU Notes (pdf)
Venue	West Bay Club \| Estero, Fla. \| Par: 72 \| Yards: 6,960
Live	Live Scoring (Scoreboard)
Social Media	EMU_Golf (X) \| Ea sternMichiganMensGolf (Instagram)

ESTERO, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team will head to Florida this week for its penultimate fall event as the Eagles will compete in the West Bay Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 6-7, in Estero, Fla. Eastern will be one of 12 teams scheduled to play in the event on the par-72, 6,960-yard West Bay Club course.

THIS WEEK'S LINE UP
Here are the Eagles that will compete at the West Bay Collegiate Invitational:
1. Charlie Box (Jr.) • 70.7 avg. | 2025 NJCAA DI Champion... T7th at DeLapa... MAC Golfer of the Week (Oct. 3).
2. Joshua Hess (Fr.) • 71.9 avg. | Captured first top 20 finish by tying for 19th at Highland Invitational
3. Rory McDonald-O'Brien (Sr.) • 74.3 avg. | 2025 MAC Runner-Up... T29th at Whirlwind Collegiate
4. Tim Chan (Sr.) • 72.1 avg. | Led the team at Whirlwind Collegiate by placing T24th
5. Carlos Fernández Mortera (Jr.) • 74.3 avg. | Season-best T48th at Highland Invitational

Here is who will be playing in the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore:
1. Robby Turnbull (Fr.) • 72.2 avg. | Representing Team New Zealand, Oct. 8-11

CHIP INS
» Charlie Box led the Eagles at the Jim DeLapa Collegiate (Sept. 28-29) by tying for seventh place and finishing as the top MAC player in the field. For his efforts, the junior was named the MAC Golfer of the Week (Oct. 3).
» Former Eagle Brett White finished fifth on the PGA TOUR Americas Fortinet Cup standings last week to earn his Korn Ferry Tour exemption card for the 2026 season.
» Robby Turnbull, a freshman on the team, has been invited to compete in a pair of international tournaments in October. He will represent Team New Zealand at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore (Oct. 8-11) and the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (Oct. 23-26) in United Arab Emirates.
» The Eagles are slated to play in six events this fall with stops in four different time zones, including Eastern (Michigan and Florida), Central (Illinois), Mountain (Arizona and New Mexico), and Hawaiian. All told in 2025-26, EMU will play in 12 total events, including spring events in Alabama, California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas, before playing in the 2026 MAC Championships in Zionsville, Ind. (May 3-5).
» EMU's roster features seven players with two returning players in Tim Chan and Rory McDonald-O'Brien, the 2025 MAC runner-up. Both seniors are set for the final collegiate campaigns this year after averaging 72.8 (No. 12 in EMU history) and 73.3 (No. 21) strokes, respectively, last year.
» There are five newcomers to the roster this year, including three transfers and two freshmen. The transfers include senior Leo Mihaich (Argentina/Oklahoma Christian) and juniors Charlie Box (England/Hutchinson CC) and Carlos Fernández Mortera (Spain/Charleston). The two freshmen include Joshua Hess (Switzerland) and Robby Turnbull (New Zealand).

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FACTS
The West Bay Collegiate Invitational will be played on the par-72, 6,960-yard West Bay Club course that is located in Estero, Fla. The two-day tournament will see teams play 36 holes Monday, Oct. 6, with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start before the final round is played Tuesday, Oct. 7, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FIELD
The West Bay Collegiate Invitational features 12 teams with the Eagles set to face players from Coastal Carolina, DePaul, Elon, Florida Atlantic, host Florida Gulf Coast, George Mason, Jacksonville, Middle Tennessee State, South Florida, Stetson, and UCF. Four of those teams -- Coastal Carolina, Elon, Florida Gulf Coast, and South Florida -- all competed in the 2025 NCAA Regionals with South Florida advancing to the NCAA Championships. Additionally, George Mason and Stetson played in the National Golf Invitational postseason tournament.

IN THE RANKINGS • TEAMS
According to the release of the Bushnell/Golfweek NCAA Division I Coaches Poll (Sept. 19), Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast are among 30 teams listed in the 'receiving votes' section of the rankings.

INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Robby Turnbull will compete for Team New Zealand this week when he faces off with players from around the world in the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore, Oct. 8-11, on the Tampines Course at Tanaha Merah Country Club. Turnbull and his teammates will be one of 36 teams competing in the 34th edition of the Eisenhower Trophy that will see the best two individual scores for each nation counted daily for a team score with the lowest aggregate scoring after the fourth round winning the title. The tournament will be the first of two events Turnbull will play this month for his home country as he also will compete in the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Oct. 23-26, on the Majlis Course of the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Turnbull competed in the event in 2024, tying for 49th in Japan.

RECAP: JIM DeLAPA COLLEGIATE
Eastern competed in the inaugural Jim DeLapa Collegiate, Sept. 28-29, at Point O' Woods Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich., and finished 10th overall at 8-over 848 (281-287-280), a score that tied for the sixth-lowest in program history. Eastern, who's third-round 280 tied for the 17th-lowest in program history, was led by Charlie Box, who tied for seventh at 4-under 206 (69-70-67), the fifth-lowest score in program history.

HONORED BY THE MAC
Charlie Box, the top placer among all MAC players in the Jim DeLapa Collegiate that included host Central Michigan and Northern Illinois, was named the MAC Golfer of the Week (Oct. 3). Box was the top finisher for the Eagles as he entered the third round in 16th before climbing nine spots to finish in a tie for seventh place at 4-under 206 (69-70-67), his lowest score in four events with the program and tied for fifth-best in EMU history. Playing on a par-70 course, Box shot at or below par in all three rounds to post his lowest 54-hole score as a member of the program after twice shooting 203 with Hutchinson CC in the previous two seasons. His second time recording a top-10 finish for the Eagles, Box' final-round 67 helped the team shoot even-par 280 for the 17th-lowest team round in program history while helping the team to a total of 848, the sixth-lowest 54-hole team score in EMU history.

TOUR CARD EARNED
Brett White is back on the Korn Ferry Tour as the former Eagle, who last competed full time on the tour in 2022, finished fifth in the 2025 Fortinet Cup standings to earn automatic membership for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour. After sitting 11th on the list following the PGA TOUR Americas Latin America swing with 411 points, White scored 722 points on the North America swing to climb to fifth overall and earn his card. Along with the membership, he also earned exemption into the PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage (Dec. 11-14) where the top five finishers (plus ties) will earn their PGA TOUR card.

GETTING CLOSER
Needing just three more rounds to qualify, three Eagles enter the weekend with their season average among the best in program history. As it stands, Charlie Box holds a 70.7 stroke average through 12 rounds played, which would be 1.1 strokes better than record holder Beau Breault, who averaged 71.8 in 2018-19. Additionally, Joshua Hess would rank third right now at 71.9 and tie with Ty Celone (2018-19) for the spot while joining the three previously mentioned Eagles as the only ones under 72.0. Tim Chan is at 72.1 currently, which would tie for fifth with Kyle Rodes (2016-17). Chan added his name to the ledger one year ago with his 72.8 average tied for 12th while Rory McDonald-O'Brien averaged 73.3, which was 21st.

Current Season Scoring Average Rankings
1. Charlie Box • 70.7 • 2025-26
2. Beau Breault • 71.8 • 2018-19
3. Joshua Hess • 71.9 • 2025-26
3. Ty Celone • 71.9 • 2018-19
5. Tim Chan • 72.1 • 2025-26
5. Kyle Rodes • 72.1 • 2016-17

GOOD TO BE BELOW AVERAGE
As a team, the Eagles currently hold a four-player average of 286.4, which is the lowest in program history, surpassing the previous best of 289.1 recorded by the 2018-19 squad that tallied 8,384 strokes over 29 rounds played. As it stands, this year's team average, should it hold, would be one of just two to finish below 290 as the 2016-17 team set broke the record with its 290.4 average (9,875 strokes, 34 rounds).

LOGGING MILES
The Eagles will once again spread their wings and play in tournaments in 11 different states in 2025-26, including five of the six time zones across the United States. In the fall, Eastern is set to play in tournaments in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, and New Mexico before taking part in events in Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas during the spring season.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern returns to action the first week of November to close out its 2025 fall slate when the Eagles head to Hawaii for the Pearl at Kalauao Invitational, hosted by the University of Hawaii, Nov. 5-6. The two-day event will be held on the Pearl at Kalauao Course in 'Aiea, O'ahu.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Charlie Box

Tim Chan

Joshua Hess

Rory McDonald-O'Brien

Leo Mihaich

Robby Turnbull

Eastern Michigan Athletics