The Eastern men’s golf team will be heading to Macomb, Ill., this Friday and Saturday to take part in its third tournament of the spring season. With only two tournaments remaining this spring, the Panthers are in need of a promising finish this weekend.

Friday will consist of 36 holes of play followed by another 18 expected holes Saturday. Play begins on Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m.

Harry Mussatto Golf Course is 6,862 yard course with a par of 72.

Eastern has finished last place in their first two tournaments as they placed 11th at the Missouri State Invite and 15th at the Arkansas State Invite.

This weekend’s event is the 44th annual Beu/Mussatto invitational hosted by Western Illinois. It will be Eastern first time participating in the tournament. It also marks the Panthers first in-state tournament actions since tournament last October.

The team usually brings at least five participants to represent Eastern when they hit the road, but the full lineup is still be determined. Top team golfer, Alvaro Hernandez and freshman Charlie Adare are both definite contenders

Panther head coach, Mike Moncel, has been coaching men’s golf here at Eastern for 13 years. He is working around some things in order to get his team ready for this weekend.  There are several injuries and class internship issues that need to be assessed before making the lineup.

“We are hopeful Austin Sproles can play for the first time this year,” Moncel says. “Daniel Hughes has played with a broken hand the last two tournaments so he will not play, hopefully he will be ready for conference.”

Senior Sproles, junior Daniel Hughes and Adare have posted under-par scores this season. Sproles carded a 69 this season.

Despite falling last in both tournaments this spring, coach Moncel is optimistic about the rest of the season. He feels that if the team is able to get their best lineup in before Friday’s first round then they should be fine.

Freshman Alvaro Hernandez has done nothing but stand out for the Panthers dating back to last fall until now. He continues to show up and lead his team in almost every tournament. He shoots an average round of just under 76.

Hernandez’ lowest score was a 67.

Adare has played in 18 rounds this season dating back to mid-September. His best score is a 71, which serves as the team’s fourth lowest score this season. Adare averages a score of 79.3 per round.

Several schools will be in attendance this weekend in Macomb. The completion includes Illinois Central College, Bradley, Chicago State, Indian Hills Community College, St. Ambrose, Culver Stockton, William Woods and Saint Francis.

Eastern has not played in the invite since 2011, where they finished 5th out of the 16-team field.

The OVC Championship will be the Panthers last tournament for the season on April 25-27 in Muscle Shoales, Ala.

Jack Arkus can be reached at 581-2812 or jtarkus@eiu.edu