Team prepares for Regionals in South Bend

FROM IDS REPORTS

After a two-week break from the friendly confines of Bloomington, the IU men’s golf team will be “back home again in Indiana” as it plays in the NCAA Central Regional beginning Thursday in South Bend.

The Hoosiers earned the No. 10 seed in the Central Regional out of 14 teams and will be looking to finish in the top five of those teams that will earn bids to the NCAA Championships from June 1 to 6.

The Central Regional will be played at the Warren Golf Course, which many of the Hoosiers have seen before.

“We are very familiar with the Warren course both from a coaching aspect and with the players,” IU coach Mike Mayer said. “We are going to have to be really careful on what we hit into greens where we leave the ball.”

The field at the Central Regional includes No. 3 Stanford and No. 6 Florida, along with four teams from both the ACC and Big Ten Conferences.

IU will keep the same lineup it had the past two tournaments and will be led by senior Alex Martin.

Sophomores David Erdy and Chase Wright will follow Martin in the lineup. Wright recently advanced out of the first stage of qualifying for the United States Open when he shot 73 at Crooked Stick Golf Club.

Playing in the fourth spot will be freshman Brant Peaper, who missed advancing out of the U.S. Open qualifying site by one shot.

Freshman Corey Ziedonis will round out the Hoosier lineup and carries with him the most experience on the Warren Golf Course of any IU golfer. Ziedonis finished runner-up last summer at the AJGA Notre Dame Open.

Last year, the Hoosiers were a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Southeast Regional but struggled to a 12th-place finish, therefore not advancing to the NCAA Championship.

“I think last year, when we got shipped to Florida, we were way out of our element and expectations were very high,” Mayer said. “I think it will take a great effort to get out of Regionals, but I really like how we’re playing.”

­ — Kevin Bowen