Hoosiers finish 11th in John Hayt Collegiate Invitational

The No. 19 men’s golf team finished 12th out of 15 teams this weekend in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.\nOverall, the Hoosiers shot 302-301-297 as a team. This was the Hoosiers first tournament of the spring season, and it was the worst team finish they have had so far. IU faced tough competition in the tournament, with 11 out of 15 teams ranked in the top 50 nationally, which gave the Hoosiers some difficulties. \nAfter shooting an even par 72 through the first 18 holes, junior Drew Allenspach shot a 1-under-par 71 to put him in a tie for third place after round two. Allenspach shot four birdies in the second round and in round three, he shot a 76, 4-over-par. He finished the tournament tied for 12th place with a score of 3-over-par. \nNo. 42-ranked junior Jorge Campillo struggled in the first two rounds, shooting a 4-over-par and 6-over-par, respectively. \n“With confidence and practice I play better, I just need to play more golf and I’ll be fine for the spring,” Campillo said.\nCampillo finished in a 13-way tie for 38th in the tournament with an overall score of 10-over-par.\nIU coach Mike Mayer said he knew the tournament would be tough, especially because of the strength of the opponents.\n“We knew it was going to be difficult, and we were going to be at a disadvantage over these teams,” Mayer said. “It was a very strong round. Maybe we were at a disadvantage for this event, but maybe we can turn that into an advantage later on.”\nCampillo said this tournament was different from ones during the fall season.\n“Coming into the fall, we played a bunch of summer ball, and after the long winter, it was kind of hard for us to come here and play well,” he said.\nPlaying in his first collegiate tournament, freshman Ren Han described his inaugural match as a tough field of opponents.\n“It was a strong field,” he said. “It was definitely a big tournament and I tried to play just like any of the major events I played in over the summer.”\nHan improved in every round, starting with an 11-over-par 83 in the first round, then received a 5-over-par in round two and finished out strong with a 2-over-par 74 in round three to bring his total to 18-over-par.\nThe Hoosiers look to get back on the right track March 16th when they travel to Pinehurst, N.C., to play in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate tournament. \n“It was the little things that made the difference,” Mayer said. “Pitching around the green was very difficult for us; we made mistakes we don’t usually make and same with putting. We just weren’t real sharp and it showed.”