IU men's golf finishes fourth in Gopher Invitational

The IU men’s golf team stroked its way to a fourth place tie in the 12-team Gopher Invitational last weekend in Wayzata, Minn. The tournament was hosted by the University of Minnesota and held at the par 72, 7,020-yard Spring Hill Golf Club.\nTying for fourth place alongside Notre Dame, the Hoosiers finished ahead of Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Minnesota, ranked 31st and 32nd, respectively. Both Michigan State and Minnesota were two teams IU coach Mike Mayer predicted would be very strong throughout the season.\nThe other Big Ten opponent in the field was 36th-ranked Wisconsin, who finished just one stroke ahead of the Hoosiers. The Badgers took a share of second place along with Arkansas, while 3rd-ranked Lamar University won the invitational with a total score of 868.\nJunior Drew Allenspach felt the competition was strong at the invitational.\n“I feel this has to be one of the strongest fall schedules we have ever had, certainly the strongest since I’ve been at IU,” he said.\nLed by junior Jorge Campillo, sophomore Alex Martin and Allenspach, the Hoosiers were able to move up one position to earn a share of fourth after finding themselves in fifth place Saturday evening. Allenspach, Campillo and Martin all finished to tie for 16th place at the invitational. Martin has opened the season with two straight top-25 finishes.\nAllenspach, who found himself in the starting five for the first time this year, was able to shake off a first-round five over par 77 to come back with final round scores of 72 and 73.\nCampillo played brilliantly Saturday with rounds of even par and one under par. Campillo, the only Hoosier to break par on the weekend, struggled through his final 18 holes, notching a 79.\nPrior to the tournament, Mayer said his team would have to do a better job of finishing rounds this weekend and throughout the season if the Hoosiers want to stay competitive. It seems Mayer’s concerns on finishing rounds will be the focus again this week as the team prepares for its upcoming tournament, the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind.\nDespite moving up one position from Saturday, the Hoosiers’ final round 299 was the worst of their three rounds in the Gopher Invitational.\n“As a team we need to finish a lot stronger, weak finishes will really hurt us,” Mayer said.\nJunior Seth Brandon opened the tournament with a round of two over par 74, but his impressive start was followed by disappointing rounds of 78 and 80. Senior Tad Sacheck began the tournament with a 12 over par 84, but his following 36 holes showed steady improvement, with rounds of 77 and 74.\nIU will host the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, a 14-team invitational, this weekend.\n“We need to take the matches one step at a time and not look to far ahead,” Allenspach said.