Junior Peters named Big Ten Golfer of the Week

Showing the depth and talent of the IU men's golf lineup, junior Heath Peters became the second Hoosier golfer in three weeks to be named Big Ten Golfer of the Week. \nPeters was awarded the honor after tying for third place at the Steve Kerr Invitational March 18 and 19. Peters was able to put together a consistent tournament by scoring rounds of 72, 71 and 71 for his first top 10 finish of the spring. Peters' total of 214 was only nine strokes behind the tournament champion, Denver junior Barrett Jarosch.\nThis is the second time Peters has won the award. Peters' first took conference Golfer of the Week honors nearly a year ago after winning the Johnny Owens Invitational.\n"It's always an honor," Peters said of the award. "It just shows that I had solid play for the past week. Hopefully, it'll bring a little better luck for me the rest of the season. Peters joins fellow junior Jeff Overton as the only Hoosiers to earn the award this season. Overton was awarded the honor over spring break after tying for fourth place at the St. Croix Collegiate Classic. It was Overton's fifth top 10 finish in six events. Overton's consistency, including four straight tournament victories, has led the Hoosiers all year. But Peters struggled to break through. \n"It really opens the doors for our team," Overton said. "If (Peters) plays well and I play well, it'll be pretty hard to beat us. I would take me and him over just about any one-two punch in the country."\nIn the fall, the Hoosiers were able to rely on Overton's performances to help carry them. Overton won all four tournaments on the fall schedule, but IU coach Mike Mayer knows his team cannot count on that happening all the time. That is why Mayer was pleased to see Peters' performance.\n"It makes life a hell of a lot easier. It makes the game a lot easier," Mayer said. "That's what any team needs. \nMayer hopes the performances of Overton and Peters will help bring back the attitude that helped the Hoosiers win three of four fall tournaments.\n"We had a swagger in the fall," Mayer said. "We had that kind of confidence. We have yet to quite get there. We're looking for a breakthrough tournament to get that swagger back. Hopefully, with the performance of Heath and what Jeff's done, we ought to be able to find that swagger."\nThe Hoosiers will have to wait a bit longer to find that swagger. They will not return to the competition until April 10 and 11 when they travel to West Lafayette for the Boilermaker Invitational.\n-- Contact staff writer Charlie Gillingham at cgilling@indiana.edu.