IU leaves shortened tournament with 3rd-place finish

Exactly two weeks after finishing its previous tournament, the men's golf team played Sunday in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate. Because of unplayable course conditions, the final 18 holes were canceled, leaving the Hoosiers with a third-place finish.\nThe Centennial No. 8 course at Pinehurst was home to both the 1997 and '98 PGA Club Pro Championships; this weekend, it was the site for the first IU-hosted event of the season.\nDespite the challenging course and unfavorable weather, IU fielded perhaps its best team effort of the spring. In the spring's first two events, the strong play of freshman Jorge Campillo, who won his second Big Ten Golfer of the Week award following a tournament in Orlando, Fla., led the Hoosiers. For the first time this spring, IU had no golfers finish in the top 10, but it was able to remain in first-place contention through team balance.\nFreshman Drew Allenspach led that effort. He ended the first round in a tie for first at one under par, but his five-over 77 in the second and, ultimately, final round dropped him to 11th. Senior Scott Seibert returned to the IU lineup for the first time since the team traveled to Mexico. His score of 149 left him in a tie for 13th with Campillo, and his fourth-place finish on the same course the year before might have aided him.\n"I felt like I knew the course," Campillo said, "I was \ncomfortable with the course."\nWith the tournament champion Southern Methodist University finishing two players at first and third, IU coach Mike Mayer said he felt the weekend's tournament was slightly more competitive than most.\n"This is one of the better fields we've played in this year," he said. "It's a strong field from top to bottom."\nBecause IU trailed the University of Alabama at Birmingham for second by only one stroke and SMU had no other players finishing higher than 34th outside its top two, the team was potentially one more solid round away from moving up to at least second. Though pleased with a third-place showing, Campillo regretted not having the chance to match or improve on IU's first-round performance.\n"We are disappointed because we finished so bad (Monday)," Campillo said.\nThe Hoosiers will take a two-week break from competition, resuming play at the Boilermaker Invitational on April 8 and 9 in West Lafayette.