Hoosiers finish 7th in Xavier Provident Invitational

Freshman Jeff Overton shot a career low 54-hole score with a four-over par 217 in the Xavier Provident Invitational at the Grizzly Tournament Course in Mason, Ohio. Overton's efforts, which included a one-under par 70 in Tuesday's final round, were only enough to lead the Hoosiers to a seventh place finish in the 19-team tournament.\nThough his performance was enough to garner the 17th position in the tournament, Overton still believes his game has room for improvement.\n"I feel like I\'m hitting the ball as good as I ever have, but I\'m just missing short putts and not taking advantage of opportunities," Overton said.\nIU finished the tournament with a score of 872, which put them a mere stroke behind sixth-place Ohio's 871. Despite finishing in seventh, the mark of 872 was the second-best finish for IU in the Xavier Provident Invitational, which the team has played in for the past six years. In 1998 the team\'s score of 870 was good enough for a second place finish.\n"We did not play bad," junior Aldo Jordan said. "But most of the teams were making birdies so that's where the difference came in. We have to take advantage of every possible shot."\nThe Hoosiers shot combined scores of 291 and 292 in the first two rounds Monday, putting the team in 13th place after the first day of the tournament. On Tuesday the team lept up in the standings on the heels of Overton\'s 70 as well as a 72 from Jordan. IU\'s score of 289 was good enough to raise the team into seventh place overall.\n"The course was set up tougher today and we shot our lowest round," head coach Mike Mayer said.\nJordan was the No. 2 man for the Hoosiers, tying for 29th individually with a 219 (73-74-72). Junior Ben Davidson and freshman Heath Peters tied for 41st individually with a score of 221, including an even-par first round for Peters. Rounding out the field for IU was freshman Rob Ockenfuss, who tied for 48th with a score of 222. Ockenfuss' tournament featured a one-under par 70 in the second round.\nThe Hoosiers will be in action again on Oct. 22-23 at The Tillinghast in Scarsdale, N.Y.\n"We have less than two weeks to prepare for Scarsdale," Mayer said. "This is probably the toughest field we will see in the fall and possibly the whole year. We need to get focused and we need to work hard in these two weeks"