IU finishes ahead of 3 top 10-ranked teams in 1st tournament

The IU men’s golf team began its season in an impressive fashion, placing sixth out of 16 teams at the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. The tournament featured five of the top 12 teams in the country, and the Hoosiers finished ahead of three top-10 programs. \nJunior Seth Brandon led the way with a strong outing Tuesday, the second day of the tournament. Brandon was one of three players in the 81-player field to break par Tuesday, and tied for fifth place overall. Brandon finished the tournament with a score of 214, one stroke over par, and notched his third career Top 5 finish according to a IU Athletics press release.\nBrandon said the challenge of playing at the Inverness Club against high-level competition was a good way to start the season. \n“I think the big teams and the big course and all that’s good, because (such factors are) just motivators to play well,” Brandon said. “The last thing I want to do is go play easy courses against easy teams, because that’s not going to get me anywhere.”\nIU coach Mike Mayer said he was pleased with his team’s start to the season. He said he learned a few important things over the course of the two-day tournament. \n“I really felt like we got off to a really, really solid start in this tournament,” Mayer said. “We played the way we were capable of playing. I think I learned we can compete with (top) teams first and foremost. Until you get there and play (those kinds of teams), you never really know (how you’ll perform).”\nMayer said he was pleased with the fact that several players on his team stepped up and performed well on such a big stage. He said having a team stronger than just one golfer – the Hoosiers’ lone NCAA championship qualifier, junior Jorge Campillo – will greatly benefit the Hoosiers in the future. \n“I learned that we’re not a single-player team,” Mayer said. \nMayer pointed to contributions from Brandon, sophomore Alex Martin and senior Ted Sacheck as keys to the Hoosiers’ success this weekend. He said Miller and Sacheck worked throughout the summer to improve their games, and their performances reflected that work. \nMayer also said he was pleased with his team’s performance on such a tough course. The Inverness Club has hosted four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships, among other events. \nMayer said he didn’t know what to expect coming into the season, but he said he wanted to take his team to big tournaments like the one at the Inverness Club early to help them improve. \n“I’m not going to say I haven’t lost a little sleep ... wondering how we were going to handle such a big tournament,” Mayer said. “(The outing) tells a lot about what we can do.”\nMayer said his overall impressions of the tournament were positive. He said his team did not let the magnitude of the event affect their play. \n“I don’t think we went in afraid, I don’t think we went in intimidated,” he said. “I was pleased that, in this tournament, we didn’t get distracted, it wasn’t a deer-in-the-headlights deal. We were focused on what we wanted to do, what we had to do.”\nBrandon said the team was pleased with their performance, but felt they could have done even better. He said they will take lessons from this weekend and use them as they prepare for their next tournament, which is this weekend at the Gopher Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn.\n“We played pretty well, and we just have to learn from our mistakes,” Brandon said. “Learn what we did wrong and correct it ... so maybe next (tournament) we can finish at the top.”