2 Hoosiers claim conference honors

For each of the 11 years IU coach Mike Mayer has led the men’s golf program, at least one IU golfer has played for the All-Big Ten team.

Put him down for two more this year. 

Senior Jorge Campillo and junior Alex Martin, the duo leading the No. 10 Hoosiers into the NCAA Regionals as a second-seed team, are now first-team All-Big Ten players. Campillo took it one step further, winning his second consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year Award. 

The appointment marks the third time a Hoosier has won the title in consecutive seasons, joining Jeff Overton and Randy Leen on the list. It is also only the fifth time in Big Ten history that a player has won the award consecutively. 

Campillo is also a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given out annually to college golf’s top player. Last season, Campillo closed the year out with a Big Ten championship, but Mayer said Campillo took his game to a different level this year.

“He closed the season real strong last year,” Mayer said. “This year, he has been, overall, a more consistent player.”

Mayer can still have hopes for a future without Campillo. He said Campillo is a real asset to the younger players due to his work ethic at practice and his love of helping his teammates hone their game.

“I think he gets a kick out of these new kids,” Mayer said, “He sees a lot of promise in our freshmen.”

The influence also found its way to the other Hoosier recognized this week.  
Recruited for the first-team All-Big Ten, Martin said he owes a great deal of his success to his senior teammate.

“Jorge has been an outstanding leader to this team in many aspects besides his unbelievable play,” Martin said. “He is encouraging to the other team members and was encouraging to me throughout my career.”

He said he hopes he can learn from Campillo’s example and lead the team, something
Mayer fully anticipates. 

“Alex is a solid player with very consistent play, and the team will be expecting the same next year,” Mayer said.

Martin’s 72.70 scoring average is second on the team, behind Campillo, and is currently 12th on the Hoosiers’ all-time list. After the fall season, Golf World dubbed Martin as the Mid-Season Most Improved Player. 

Martin said his biggest leap this season was an increase in his self-confidence to win tournament titles.

“I probably had the ability to win last year, but this year I came in really believing I could, and as a result I won at Illinois’ tournament and have gotten six top-10 finishes,” Martin said.

The Hoosiers’ next challenge comes May 15, when they travel to Florida for the NCAA Regionals. They will need to finish in the top five in order to advance for the second straight season. 

When the season does wrap up, the two Hoosiers will take decidedly different paths. Campillo plans to compete professionally in Europe, while Martin is looking forward to a busy summer of amateur play. 

Although losing the nation’s top-ranked player would hurt any program, Martin gives hope to the future.

“Losing Jorge next year will make for a tough spot to fill,” Martin said. “But I know my teammates and I will work hard over the summer so that we can try and keep IU a top-15 team.”