FRANKLIN – At least for a day, a Marquette University golf program group text of alumni, coaches and players could be draining batteries across the area as the Golden Eagles made their presence felt Aug. 16 during the first round at the 106th Wisconsin State Open at Tuckaway Country Club.
Golden Eagles assistant coach Josh Robinson and senior Mason Schmidtke finished the day tied for first place, along with University of Wisconsin freshman Cody Guetzke, at 5-under par 67.
Chasing the leaders is Marquette alumnus Brandon Cloete at 4-under. Cloete, who finished his college career at Marquette in 2015 and plays out of Madison, was the first-round leader of the Wisconsin State Amateur before finishing tied for fourth.
Of all the blue and gold peppering the leaderboard, Robinson was the one with the best chance to take the solo lead after the first round as he approached the 18th hole at 6-under, but he couldn’t save par. It was one of just two bogeys on the day for the Northern Irishman, who said he’s played more this summer than he has in recent years.
“I don’t think you ever abandon any idea of playing, especially once you get to this level it always brings you back,” said Robinson, who is about to begin his third season as a coach with his alma mater after finishing his college career in 2024.
“That’s what the nice thing about it is. It’s good that we’ve got such a good team at Marquette. Obviously my alma mater, I get to coach there, get to be with the guys and pass my experiences on to them now which is great. It’s been a wonderful two years and obviously when it comes back to golf I’m trying to compete as much as I can.”
Schmidtke bogeyed his first hole of the round and proceeded to make six birdies over his next 17.
“Coming in, just trying to keep expectations low and not very result-based – that’s gotten me into some trouble this summer just thinking too much about score,” said Schmidtke, who was an all-Big East first team member in 2025-26. “I think my game’s been in a pretty decent spot, so kind of tried to set up a system out there today and my yardage book to kind of take my mind off of golf a little bit and get kind of lost in every shot and it worked pretty well.”
Schmidtke was a teammate with Robinson for one year and noted his coach shot a 7-under 65 at North Shore Country Club in Mequon on July 30 to qualify for the Open.
“Obviously his game’s been good,” Schmidtke said. “I certainly know he’s capable of playing good golf and when he gets it rolling he can absolutely go low. It’s only Day 1. I’ll be happy to chase him around the next few days if I can.”
Professionals Barrett Kelpin (Madison), Kaylor Steger (Mount Pleasant) and Daniel Mazziotta (Wisconsin Rapids) matched Cloete at 4-under in a tie for fourth.
Brookfield’s Harrison Ott put himself in position to contend for his third Open title, and his first as a professional, by firing a 3-under 69 in his first round. He is alone in eighth place.
Ott won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021 as an amateur. Dan Woltman was the last golfer to claim not only three titles, but championships as an amateur (2007, 2009) and a professional (2018, 2019).
Marquette alumnus Mike Van Sickle is among a group of 12 golfers tied for ninth, each shooting 2-under 70. Van Sickle is the university’s all-time leader in tournament victories and scoring average.
“He obviously set the standard pretty high at Marquette,” Robinson said.
Max Lyons is the last Marquette golfer to win the State Open, claiming the title in 2024. He shot a 1-under 71, along with former teammate Patrick Adler, to stay within shouting distance of their former teammates atop the leaderboard.
Defending champion Sam Weatherhead of Hartford opened with an even par 72. He is in a group of 11 players tied for 36th, including fellow past champions Ryan Helminen and Andrew Steinhofer, that will begin the second round five strokes off the lead.
The tournament resumes with 18 holes of play on Aug. 18 and concludes with 36 holes on Aug. 19.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette University golfers litter leaderboard at Wisconsin State Open