Men’s Golf Set to Open Season in Arizona

2026 BOMBS DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE
Date	Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 7-8, 2026
Info Hub	EMU Notes (pdf)
Venue	Whirlwind GC at Wild Gorse Pass \| Chandler, Ariz. \| Par: 72 \| Yards: 7,222
Live	Live Scoring (Scoreboard)
Social Media	EMU_Golf (X) \| Ea sternMichiganMensGolf (Instagram)

CHANDLER, Ariz. (EMUEagles.com) — The 2026-27 season for the Eastern Michigan University men's golf team is set to open this week as the Eagles will compete in the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate, Sept. 7-8, at Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Ariz. The Eagles, who played in the same event last year under the Whirlwind Collegiate Invitational name, will send six players to compete in the first of five fall events in 2026.

THIS WEEK'S LINE UP
Here are the Eagles that will compete at the 2026 Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8):
Charlie Box (Y4) • 71.6 (25-26) • 2025-26 MAC Golfer of the Year... 2x medalist in 2025-26 (West Bay & Muirfield)
Joshua Hess (Y2) • 72.9 (2025-26) • 2025-26 All-MAC Second Team honoree
Vicente Quiroga (Y1) • No. 74 in WAGR (Sept. 2)... 6x medalist in Bolivia in 2026
Ben Sessions (Y1) • Played for England in several international events in 2026... Sir Henry Cooper Champion
Felipe Suarez (Y2) • 69.7 (25-26) • NAIA All-American (#3 rank)... 6x medalist in 2025-26 with Missouri Valley
Robby Turnbull (Y2) • 72.2 (2025-26) • 2025-26 MAC Freshman of the Year and All-MAC First Team selection

CHIP INS
» The 2026-27 season features eight players with three returning to the team from last season, including Charlie Box, Joshua Hess, and Robby Turnbull. The trio of Eagles led the way for EMU throughout the 2025-26 campaign with Box winning a pair of tournaments while all three posted stroke averages of 72.9 or better, all of which ranked among the top 10 in program history.
» The three returning Eagles garnered numerous awards during the 2025-26 season with Charlie Box earning MAC Golfer of the Year and Robby Turnbull MAC Freshman of the Year awards. Both players earned All-MAC First Team honors while Joshua Hess was named to the All-MAC Second Team. Overall, they combined for six MAC Golfer of the Week awards with Box garnering four of the awards.
» The roster also features five newcomers, including three first-year collegiate players and two transfers. The first-year players including Vicente Quiroga (Bolivia), Parin Sarasmut (Thailand), and Ben Sessions (UK) while the transfers include Arsit Areephun (Thailand) from Delaware and Felipe Suarez (Argentina) from Missouri Valley College.
» Over the summer, the NCAA announced its new age-based eligibility model, which also is unofficially known as the five-in-five model. The new model gives student-athletes five years to compete for five seasons with no redshirting and other waivers being utilized moving forward.
» Andy Walker is back for his third year as the Eagles' head coach and brings a championship of his own from summer play after capturing medalist honors at the Yamaha Golf Cars Plus Michigan Senior Open, July 14-15, at Bedford Valley CC. Walker shot 6-under 138, including a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff, where he won the title on the second hole.
» Former Eagle Stuart Grehan (2017-18) won The Amateur Championship that was played June 15-20 at Royal Liverpool in England. The Irishman captured the title at the 131st playing the event after finishing tied for 14th in stroke play (5-under 139) before winning six matches, including 1-up in the 36-hole final against American Matt Moloney.
» Stuart Grehan is playing in the 51st Walker Cup this weekend (Sept. 5-6) at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland, where the Great Britain/Irish team will look to defeat the Americans. Grehan is 1-0-1 through action on Sept. 5 after halving his morning foursomes match before winning, 1-up, in afternoon singles.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FACTS • BOMB DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE
The first tournament of the year for the Eagles is the Bomb Darts Birds Collegiate, hosted by USC, at Whirlwind Course at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Ariz. The two-day event will run Monday, Sept. 7, and Tuesday, Sept. 18, with 36 holes and 18 holes played, respectively. Action on the par-72, 7,222-yard course is scheduled to start both days at 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) with shotguns starts each day. Live scoring will be available on the Scoreboard/Clippd website and linked on the schedule page at EMUEagles.com.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FIELD • BOMB DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE
The Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate field features 13 teams from across the nation with USC hosting the event in Arizona. Along with Eagles and Trojans, the remaining 11 teams slated to compete include Arkansas State, Baylor, California, Fresno State, James Madison, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, Santa Clara, Stanford, UTEP, and Washington State. Six of the teams in the field are returning from playing in the then-Whirlwind Collegiate Invitational (Sept. 8-9, 2025), including Arkansas State, EMU, James Madison, New Mexico State, USC, and UTEP.

IN THE RANKINGS • TEAMS • BOMB DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE
The 13-team field includes 11 teams that were ranked in the top 150 in the final 2026 Scoreboard/Clippd rankings (June 8) with No. 13 Stanford leading the group. The eight other teams that finished among the top 100 included No. 29 USC, No. 40 Arkansas State, No. 48 California, No. 68 Washington State, No. 84 UTEP, No. 91 Santa Clara, No. 92 Baylor, and No. 98 Eastern Michigan. Additionally, three teams earned rankings on one or both Golf Channel and Golfweek Preseason Top 30 lists. Stanford is ranked No. 20 in Golfweek and No. 27 on Golf Channel while USC is No. 27 and No. 22, respectively, as Cal is No. 28 on the Golf Channel list.

IN THE RANKINGS • INDIVIDUALS • BOMBS DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE
Individually, 23 players entered into the field are ranked among the top 400 in the final 2026 Scoreboard/Clippd rankings (June 8) with two of those players highly ranked in smaller divisions, including Felipe Suarez, who was No. 3 in NAIA (Missouri Valley) and UTEP's Luke Harwick, who was No. 27 for NCAA Division III Dubuque. Of the returning NCAA Division I players in the field, two were ranked in the top 100, including No. 39 Ziqin Zhou (Cal) and No. 57 Jaden Dumdumaya (USC). The field includes four players in the top 150, 13 in the top 300, and 21 total in the top 400.

EAGLE RANKINGS
Five members of the Eastern roster appeared in the final 2026 Scoreboard/Clippd rankings (June 8) with Charlie Box leading the returning NCAA Division I players on the team at No. 314. He is joined by Arsit Areephun, who was No. 347 with Delaware, and returning Eagles Robby Turnbull at No. 426 and Joshua Hess at No. 618. Also, Felipe Suarez, who played at Missouri Valley College, ended his first collegiate season ranked No. 3 on the NAIA ledger.

REVIEW: 2025 WHIRLWIND COLLEGIATE INVITE
The Eagles are returning to Whirlwind Golf Course after playing in the Whirlwind Collegiate Invitational, Sept. 8-9, 2025, where Eastern finished seventh overall at 19-under 845, a score that ranked seventh on the program's all-time 54-hole ledger. Individually, Tim Chan led the way as he shot 5-under 211 to tie for 24th overall while two returning players, Joshua Hess and Charlie Box, tied for 33rd in their Eastern debuts at 3-under 213. USC won the event at 52-under 812 while Arkansas State was second at 40-under 824.

NEW ELIGIBILITY MODEL
The 2026-27 academic year will feature the first seasons under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility model, which has been commonly referred to as the 'five-in-five' model. Under the new legislation, student-athletes will have five years to play five seasons with redshirts, medical hardships, and other waivers seeking additional years of competition being eliminated. Eastern Michigan student-athletes across all sports will be listed with a 'Y' number to indicate the year of eligibility they are currently competing. For example, Charlie Box is listed as a Y-4, meaning he is in his fourth year and has two seasons (2026-27 and 2027-28) to compete while rookie Vicente Quiroga is a Y-1, meaning he is in his first year and has five seasons to compete (2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29, 2029-30, and 2030-31).

BACK FOR MORE
EMU's roster features eight players with three back this year after joining the program ahead of the 2025-26 season. Those three players include Charlie Box, Joshua Hess, and Robby Turnbull, all of whom earned All-Mid-American Conference honors last year.
» Box was a two-time medalist in his first year with the program and his third collegiate season as he won the West Bay Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 6-7) in a playoff before sharing honors at the Muirfield Shootout (April 20). Box was named the MAC Golfer of the Year and finished the season with a school-record stroke average of 71.6, surpassing the 71.8 Beau Breault recorded in 2018-19.
» Hess posted a stroke average of 72.9 in his rookie season as the Swiss international played in 13 tournaments with six top-20 finishes. He was named to the All-MAC Second Team.
» Turnbull appeared in 10 tournaments for the Eagles and posted six finishes in the top 20 with two coming in the top 10. He averaged 72.4 strokes per round, which ranked tied for ninth in program history, before earning MAC Freshman of the Year accolades.

WELCOME ABOARD
The 2026-27 roster also welcomed five newcomers, including three first-year collegians and two transfers.
» Arsit Areephun was a three-year member of the Delaware program and won once for the Blue Hens with the title coming last season. A 2025-26 All-Conference USA Second Team selection, Areephun ended the season ranked in the top 350 of the college ranks after averaging 71.1 strokes per round.
» Vicente Quiroga has been ranked among the top 100 in the world and enters the season ranked No. 74 on the WAGR list. A first-year collegiate player from Bolivia, he posted top-10 finishes in 51-of-63 tournaments played from 2023-26 with 18 wins and 17 runner-up showings. He is one of two Quirogas playing in Ypsilanti this year as his sister, Constanza Quiroga, transferred to the women's program over the summer.
» Parin Sarasmut has also been ranked among the top 100 in the world and currently sits at No. 95 following another busy summer that saw him win the Ciputra Golfpreneur Junior World Championship for the second time in his career. He also was a member of the Thai National Team from 2023-25.
» Ben Sessions brings a wealth of experience playing in both stroke and match play competitions for England as he helped his team win several tournaments, most recently defending the crown earned at the Girls and Boys Home Internationals (match play) after winning the Sir Henry Cooper Championship.
» Felipe Suarez came to town after winning six tournaments for Missouri Valley College last year as a first-year player. An NAIA All-American that finished the year ranked No. 3 nationally, Suarez was also named the NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Men's Freshman of the Year, the Heart of America Conference Golfer of the Year, and the HOAC Freshman of the Year after winning the conference's individual title.

WALKER IT OFF
Head Coach Andy Walker won the Yamaha Golf Cars Plus Michigan Senior Open this summer as he used a late run to capture the title at the event played July 14-15 at Bedford Valley Country Club in Battle Creek, Mich. Walker, who finished at 6-under-138, used a run of four consecutive birdies over the final four holes that included sinking a 30-foot putt on No. 18 to force a playoff. In that playoff, Walker made birdie on the second hole to win the title.

WIN OF THE IRISH
Former Eagle Stuart Grehan (2017-18) won The Amateur Championship that was played June 15-20 at Royal Liverpool in England. The Irishman captured the title at the 131st playing the event after finishing tied for 14th in stroke play (5-under 139) before winning six matches, including 1-up in the 36-hole final against American Matt Moloney.

WALKER CUP
The 51st Walker Cup began play Saturday, Sept. 5, with former Eagle Stuart Grehan competing for the Great Britain/Ireland team against the American team in his native Ireland as the two-day event is being held at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch. Grehan played twice on the first day of the amateur event where he halved his morning foursomes match before winning, 1-up, in the afternoon singles session.

NOTES FROM 2025-26...
MAKING HISTORY
Charlie Box became the first member of the program to earn MAC Golfer of the Week honors four times in a single season after his third honor had tied him with Cam Burke (2009-10 season) and Graham Hill (2006-07) for the single-season record. Additionally, he became one of four Eastern players to earn four career weekly awards from the MAC, joining Burke, Hill, and Christopher Ross, who earned his during the 2005-06 (one), 2006-07 (one), and 2008-09 (two) seasons. Overall, the honor for Box was the 49th earned by an Eastern player since the start of the 1999-00 season.

EASTERN HONORED
Along with the four awards Charlie Box has earned, three Eagles have combined to capture seven weekly honors from the MAC in 2025-26 with Robby Turnbull earning two and Joshua Hess one. After Box was honored three times in the fall, including Oct. 3, Oct. 10, and Nov. 7, Turnbull earned a pair in the early portion of the spring schedule with his honors coming Feb. 20 and March 27. Hess followed with his honor earned on April 10. Overall, the seven awards earned this year are three more than the previous record of four earned by players on the 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2021-22 squads. Additionally, the 10 awards earned in the two seasons under Head Coach Andy Walker (2024-25 and 2025-26) equal the total number of honors secured in the six seasons prior to his arrival.

MEDALIST HONORS
The victory by Charlie Box at the West Bay Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 6-7) marked the first by an EMU player since the 2017-18 season when Beau Breault captured the Dayton Flyer Invitational, Oct. 16-17, 2017. Since the start of the 2000-01 season, nine different Eagles have combined to capture 15 titles with Box' win snapping a nearly eight-year long drought for the program in the winner's circle. The previous drought was three-and-one-half years as Kyle Rodes' victory at the Loyola Intercollegiate (Feb. 25-27, 2017) halted the streak following Stuart Grehan's win at the Firestone Invitational (Oct. 7-8, 2013). By winning a share of The Muirfield Shootout (April 20), Box became the first Eastern player to record multiple titles in the same season since Graham Hill in 2006-07.

GOOD TO BE BELOW AVERAGE
As a team, the Eagles currently hold a four-player average of 287.1, which is the lowest in program history by 2.0 strokes, surpassing the previous record of 289.1 set in 2018-19. 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 broke the record with its 290.4 average (9,875 strokes, 34 rounds).

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern is back in action in two weeks when the Eagles return to the Highlands Invitational, Sept. 21-22, at Chicago Highlands Club in Westchester, Ill. The two-day event will be hosted by both East Tennessee State and Wake Forest.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Arsit Areephun

Charlie Box

Tim Chan

Joshua Hess

Vicente Quiroga

Parin Sarasmut

Ben Sessions

Felipe Suarez

Robby Turnbull

Eastern Michigan Athletics