Erdy & Co. earn 13th at Olympia Fields Invitational

The IU men’s golf team finished in 13th place out of 15 teams this weekend at the Olympia Fields Invitational.

The teams gathered in Olympia Fields, Ill., featuring seven of the top 10 teams in the nation.

The Hoosiers never felt comfortable at a tournament where they have had previous success.

The Hoosiers took third place as a team in 2007 and were runner-up to Illinois last fall. Also, this year marks the first time in three years the team did not have an individual finish in the top-two performers.

Arizona St. won the tournament with a three-round total of 870, which was 18 shots higher than 2008 champion Illinois’ 852 total.

“It’s a U.S. Open course, and the firmness of the greens, along with the speed, were the toughest we had seen in the last three years,” IU coach Mike Mayer said.

Senior Alex Martin, the 2008 champion at Olympia Fields, led the Hoosiers with a three-round total that was 12 shots above the 222 par for a 28th-place tie.  

Finishing two shots higher than Martin was sophomore David Erdy. A three-round total of 224 put him in a tie for 38th.

Fellow sophomore Chase Wright finished the tournament in a tie for 50th, shooting a 228 total.

Freshmen Brant Peaper and Michael McGee rounded out the Hoosiers’ lineup with finishes of 69th and 73rd place, respectively.

IU’s challenging fall schedule does not get any easier as the team travels to Washington this weekend for the Ping/Golfweek Invitational. 

The field will include many of the same teams that were at Olympia Fields, and the Hoosiers will be looking to get back on track.

“I don’t think anybody played up to their standards,” Martin said. “I think we will go into next week looking to play a lot better and turn things around.”