IU finishes 10th at Olympia Fields

The IU men’s golf team made strides to climb the leaderboard during the second round of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational on Monday only to falter Tuesday and finish in 10th place after posting scores of 300-291-296 for 887 overall.

Arkansas came out swinging early to lead each round and run away from the field, scoring an 854, 13 strokes better than second-place Florida and 33 better than the Hoosiers. Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers was the lone player to shoot under par and took the individual crown.

“We just weren’t clicking,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said. “We weren’t all quite on the same page. We didn’t do the little things very well. We didn’t do the basics very well. We have to shore that up.”

It was the Hoosiers’ worst finish of the season and the worst since a 12th-place finish at the same event last season.

“We had our opportunities up here,” Mayer said. “It was a tough field, and we knew coming in we had to play well to be competitive.”

Senior Brant Peaper and junior Hugo Menendez led the way for the Hoosiers, each with an 8-over-par total, finishing in a tie for 20th.

Peaper’s play was consistent throughout the tournament as he put together scores of 73-70-75 (218). Mayer said Peaper played well during the event but didn’t produce well during the final round.

Menendez, on the other hand, fought back after posting a 77 in round one with a team-low 68 during day two’s play, then finished with a 73 on Tuesday. His 13 birdies during the three rounds were second most of any golfer.

On the course’s four par-three holes, Menendez went 3-under-par with a scoring average of 2.75 strokes, tied for the best during the event.

Junior David Mills had his best score of the season with 76-74-73 (223) and finished 32nd. The 223 matched his total score last year in this event, when he finished 36th.

“What he was able to do is play a little bit more like David Mills,” Mayer said. “The surprise is not what he did in the tournament but what he did in the last few tournaments.”

Mills lowered his score with every round.

“I improved every round and definitely improved over the last few tournaments where I have been struggling,” Mills said. “It is not about the score or who you beat. It is about doing the little things better.”

Mills said he wants to work on his swing and putting during the team’s week away from competition. He said his putter failed him early but has come around of late.

After earning three top-20 finishes in the first three events of the year, senior Corey Ziedonis finished the event in 65th place.

“You have to accept the ups and downs sometimes in this game,” Mayer said. “I think his swing got a little bit off, his timing got a little bit off and his rhythm. He is a young man that relies on good rhythm and timing because he is so powerful and hits the ball so hard. He’ll be back.”

The 79 Ziedonis carded during rounds two and three was his highest single-round score since his season-opening 86at the Northern Intercollegiate.

Sophomore Andrew Fogg shot 76-79-75 (230) and ended the three-day event in 60th place. It was his first team participation since April 7-8, 2012, at the NYX Hoosier Invitational.

“Fundamentally, we’ve got to be a lot stronger and a lot better than we were in this tournament,” Mayer said.