Men’s golf looks for victory in conference championship

The IU men’s golf team entered the final round of the Boilermaker Invitational eight shots back.
 
Firing a six-under-par 282 helped the squad regain lost ground from the last two rounds
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Returning home with a victory, the Hoosiers knew they had to look forward to the next challenge: the Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship.
 
Although a win provides a confidence boost, IU Coach Mike Mayer said the team is starting fresh to build for the event.

“In golf, fortunately sometimes and unfortunately sometimes, you can’t carry your results over,” Mayer said. “We’ll take the confidence from the Boilermaker (Invitational) — which you could argue was one of our best tournament wins — to move forward. We’re peaking at the right time.”

The Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in French Lick, Ind. Golf Digest named the course America’s Best New Public Course in 2009.

Mayer said the challenging golf course would ultimately be the winner at the end of the week.

“That golf course is virtually unknown by a lot of teams,” Mayer said. “We do know it’s going to be tough. With 72 holes, we’re going to have to be focused and disciplined. When it knocks us down, we’re going to be have to be able to stand up again and battle it some more.”

Sophomore David Mills said he is ready to play in the championship but knows he needs to focus on his game.

“I’m looking forward to the competition and the level of play,” Mills said. “It’s important to make putts out there and keeping the ball in play.”
 
Mills has tallied seven top-25 finishes in stroke-play for the 2011-12 season and recently placed 14th at the Boilermaker Invitational.

Among the Big Ten teams, IU is the second highest ranked squad at No. 31 in the Golfstat rankings, behind No. 26 Iowa.

Mayer said the current Hoosier squad is capable of moving into the hunt and topping the leaderboard.

“I’ve had a lot of good teams here, and this is a team that has great support and leadership with (David) Erdy and (Chase) Wright at the top,” Mayer said. “But it’s probably more balanced than anything I’ve had, and we’re hoping that will carry us forward.”

Among the IU lineup will be senior co-captains Erdy and Wright, juniors Corey Ziedonis and Brant Peaper, and Mills, a sophomore.

Ziedonis fired a three-under-par 69 en route to the Hoosier victory last weekend, which he said will be a boost for competing in the next tournament.

“It’s nice to get a good round under my belt,” Ziedonis said. “It felt like it had been awhile, but everything has been feeling good, and it’s nice to have everything come together. At least I know I can do it.” 

Regardless of the individual success, the end result will depend on the team’s collaborative score.

“You try to get everyone on the same page at the same time,” Mayer said. “We need everyone contributing and competing at the same level. Even though they’re individuals, you try to get things accomplished as a team.”