Xavier Set for Peoples Golf Championship on March 12-14

Thursday, March 12

St. Simons Island, Ga.

12:45 p.m.

Xavier University

Peoples Golf Championship

Xavier Set for Peoples Golf Championship on March 12-14

03.11.26 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring

The three-day tournament is being played at The Club at Sea Palms

By: Brian Arlinghaus

CINCINNATI - The Xavier Musketeers head south this week for The People's Championship, hosted by Western Carolina University at Sea Palms on the windswept coast of St. Simons Island. From March 12–14, a deep field of programs will battle across one of the South's classic seaside layouts where firm turf, coastal breezes, and creative shotmaking tend to reward the patient and punish the hurried.

Twenty teams arrive ready to test themselves, including programs from across the Midwest, South, and East. Schools such as Marshall University, Belmont University, Samford University, Villanova University, and Davidson College highlight a balanced and competitive lineup where every round will matter.

Xavier University brings a starting five that blends experience, firepower, and competitive toughness.

THE LINEUP

Ray Filter (individual)

OUTLOOK

Sea Palms rarely hands anything away. Coastal winds shuffle club selections like a deck of cards, and the firm turf demands imagination around the greens. Players who combine patience with opportunistic scoring tend to rise.

For Xavier, the formula is simple but demanding:

Control ball flight in the wind
Stay patient on a course that rewards discipline
Take advantage of the scoring holes when they appear

If the Musketeers can do those three things, expect them to be in the mix as the tournament moves into the final round.

TOURNAMENT INFO

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Name: Peoples Golf Championship
Course: Sea Island Resort
Host: Western Carolina
Location: St. Simons Island, Ga.
Course Par/Yardage: 71 / 6,664
Participating Teams (20): Belmont, Tennessee Tech, Western Carolina, UT Martin, Charleston Southern, Drexel, Marshall, Valparaiso, Murray State, Xavier, Siena, Long Island, Mount St. Mary's, Florida A&M, Samford, Winthrop, Wright State, Villanova, Davidson, Providence

LIVE SCORING: bit.ly/4bmKxDY

TEE TIMES
March 12 - 12:45 p.m. (Hole 1)
March 13 - 8:30 a.m. (Hole 10)
March 14 - TBD

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier placed second at the Wexford Intercollegiate on Feb. 17. The Musketeers posted a 54-hole score of 873 (+9). College of Charleston placed first (864, E).
Freshman Cayse Morgan placed sixth with a score of 212 (-4). Miles Eubanks (College of Charleston) took home medalist honors (207, -9).

BIG EAST GOLFERS OF THE WEEK

Feb. 12 - A.J. Wilhelm - Golfer of the Week
Oct. 23 - Cayse Morgan - Golfer of the Week
Oct. 16 - Cayse Morgan - Golfer of the Week

2025-26 SCHEDULE

FALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 14-16 - JT Poston Invitational - Waynesville, N.C. (Waynesville Inn and Golf Club)
Sept. 22-23 - Badger Invitational - Madison, Wis. (TPC Wisconsin)
Sept. 26 - The Indy at Forest Hills - Richmond, Ind. (Forest Hills Country Club)
Oct. 13-14 - Moraine Intercollegiate - Dayton, Ohio (Moraine Country Club)
Oct. 20-21 - Xavier Invitational presented by Gateway Logistics - Cincinnati, Ohio (Maketewah Country Club) ^

SPRING SCHEDULE
Feb. 9-10 - Lake Jovita Invitational - Dade City, Fla. - (Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club)
Feb. 16-17 - Wexford Intercollegiate - Hilton Head, S.C. (Wexford Golf Club) ^
March 12-14 - The Peoples Championship - St. Simons Island, Ga. (The Club at Sea Palms)
March 24 - Keene Trace Collegiate - Nicholasville, Ky. (Keene Trace Golf Club)
March 30-31 - Seahawk Intercollegiate - Wilmington, N.C. (Country Club of Landfall)
April 6-7 - Northern Kentucky's The Jewell - Batavia, Ohio (Elks Run Golf Course)
April 6-7 - Tiger Invitational - Columbia, Mo. (The Club at Old Hawthorne)
April 12-13 - Wright State Invitational - Springboro, Ohio (Heatherwoode Golf Club)
April 13-14 - Mountaineer Invitational - Bridgeport, W.Va. (Pete Dye Golf Club)
April 20 - Muirfield Shootout - Dublin, Ohio (The Country Club at Muirfield Village)
May 2-4 - BIG EAST Championships - Hardeeville, S.C. (Riverton Pointe Golf and Country Club)
May 18-20 - NCAA Regionals

^ defending tournament champions

NOTABLES

Xavier ranks 99th in the most recent SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd ranking on March 4.
The Musketeers have now posted five tournament titles over the last two seasons. Xavier has also posted nine, top-three finishes over the last two seasons.
Freshman Cayse Morgan took home medalist honors at the Moraine Intercollegiate on Oct. 14 in a field of 78 golfers with a 54-hole score of 204 (-9). The Cincinnati native is the first Xavier golfer to hit nine-under-par or lower since Korey Ward in 2012 at the Marshall Invite (204, -9).
Zach Burton set the course record at Maketewah Country Club on Aug. 22 with a score of 62 (-8). Cayse Morgan matched Burton's record on Nov. 8.
AJ Adams, Ray Filter and A.J. Wilhelm were inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma at the department's annual welcome back event on Aug. 17.
Carson Bellish was named a Xavier Athletics Strength Athlete of the Year Award winner for the 2024-25 academic year.
Xavier earned the 2024-25 PLATFORM Golf Team Academic Award on Aug. 5. The Musketeers posted a 3.64 team grade point average last season.
Carson Bellish, Zach Burton, Ray Filter and A.J. Wilhelm were named to the 2025 Academic All-District® Men's At-Large Team selected by College Sports Communicators on June 17.
The Musketeers posted five, top-three finishes last season with two tournament titles. Xavier placed second at the BIG EAST Championships on April 28, the highest finish for the Musketeers at the BIG EAST Championships since 2016 (also finished second).
Carson Bellish and Ray Filter earned All-BIG EAST honors on May 5. Bellish was named to the first team, while Filter picked up second-team honors.
Bellish and Filter are the first Xavier golfers to earn All-BIG EAST honors since 2019 (Garrett Wood - First Team). Xavier also had two or more golfers earn all-conference honors in the same season for the first time since 2016 (Jose Montaño and Daniel Wetterich).
Carson Bellish led the Musketeers in stroke average (71.3) in 2024-25 and posted a team-high seven top-10 finishes. The Pickerington, Ohio, native has a career 72.9 stroke average through 101 rounds of golf with 12 top-10 finishes.
Ray Filter finished the year ranked third on the team in stroke average (72.2). He had four top-10 finishes with one individual tournament title. The Crown Point, Ind., native has a career 72.3 stroke average through 63 rounds of golf with eight top-10 finishes.
Xavier welcomes two newcomers to the 2025-26 roster in Sam Fauver (Hudson, Ohio) and Cayse Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio).
Tyler Goecke will return as assistant coach for the 2025-26 season. After a standout first year on staff, Goecke earned full status on PGA TOUR Americas and is spending the summer competing across Canada.