Hoosiers to travel to Florida

IU will travel south Friday to Windermere, Fla., for the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational. The tournament will take place Oct. 21-23 at the Isleworth Golf Club.

“It is probably the most difficult golf course we will play, and you combine that with the strength of the field makes this a very challenging event,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said. “It is a golf course that demands your respect.”

Mayer said he feels his team is strong enough to overcome the difficulties this course presents. He added the Hoosiers seem to play better on tougher golf courses.

Not only do the No. 22 Hoosiers have to battle the par-72 7,544-yard course. They also face a field of 14 other teams, 13 of which are ranked in the top 50, including the 2010 winner, No. 10 Alabama, and No. 2 Texas, the 2011 champion, as well as No. 1 California.

“I enjoy playing in these kind of fields, because we play schools we normally don’t get to play,” senior Corey Ziedonis said. “We get to face possible future professional golfers, and you get to match your game up against the best.”

This trip to Isleworth marks the third appearance by IU. The team earned a tie for fourth place last season and finished third in 2008.

Senior Brant Peaper and junior David Mills, along with Ziedonis, were on last season’s squad and felt the pressure senior Michael McGee and junior Hugo Menendez will feel this season playing in the tournament.

“Just pulling up to the gate, you know it is one of the top courses in golf,” Ziedonis said. “I am not going to be to overwhelmed.”

Mayer said his players need to be sharp with their short game because of the arrangement of the course.

He called Menendez a “short game whiz” and said he can score well if he continues to play the way he has all year. 

McGee’s appearance will be his first since the Windon Memorial, missing the last two team events.

“Boy, we need that toughness out of him,” Mayer said. “Michael McGee is a grinder, so I think that golf course is perfect for him, and I don’t think he will back down from it.”