Team finishes strong

Men's golf coach Mike Mayer said he had a feeling that a more experienced lineup was what the Hoosiers needed to break through at the 24-team Tillinghast at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. \nMayer's hunch paid off as the Hoosiers placed seventh in the 24-team field.\n"With the lineup that we brought, we got quite a bit out of this tournament," Mayer said.\nThe Hoosiers finished the 36-hole tournament with a total score of 596, putting them 19 strokes behind tournament champion Illinois. IU finished three strokes behind Maryland, the 39th ranked team in the nation, according to Golfweek magazine. The Hoosiers overwhelmed 45th ranked Navy by 22 shots.\nJunior Ben Davidson led the attack for IU. Davidson shot a two-round total of 148 (73-75) and tied for 17th individually. Davidson's finish was the best of his career. \n"The tournament, the course, and the field were all unbelievable," Davidson said. "I just tried to keep myself out of trouble for two rounds and hit my birdie putts when I needed to."\nThe Hoosiers found they did not have to look to their \nexperience players for low scores. Freshman Rob Ockenfuss, who entered the tournament as the number-five golfer for IU, finished a career-best 21st individually, posting a score of 149 (74-75).\nFreshman Heath Peters struggled on the first day of the tournament, shooting a career-high 81. But he was able to regain his composure in the second round and shoot a one-over-par 71, the lowest individual round for any IU player in the tournament. Peters tied for 42nd overall.\n"I was taken aback by the atmosphere on the first day and knew I had to turn it around on Tuesday," Peters said. "My putting improved Tuesday and I played the course a little smarter by just shooting at the center of the greens and focusing on making pars."\nAlso finishing tied for 42nd was junior Bret Hardin, who shot a 77 in the first round and ended with a second round 75.\nSenior Rich Thomas rounded out the Hoosier lineup shooting 156 (76-80). Mayer said Thomas's contribution to the lineup went far beyond his score.\n"Rich really held us together in the first round," Mayer said. \nMayer said he is impressed with the depth and versatility of his squad. \n"Our team is actually deeper than we anticipated," Mayer said. "It just took us a couple of lineup changes to realize that."\nThe Hoosiers close out the fall season at a 36-hole dual meet with Ball State Sunday at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne.