Men's golf finishes 8th at season-opening tournament

After sliding to 11th place following Friday’s opening round at the Northern Intercollegiate, IU Coach Mike Mayer said his team appeared hesitant to test the course.

“We definitely started off a little sluggish, and we struggled initially off the bat,” he said.

The IU men’s golf team rebounded the next two days to finish eighth out of 15 teams at its season-opening tournament this weekend at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The University of Central Florida propelled up the leaderboard Sunday to come from behind and bring home the victory with a cumulative score of two-over par 866. The Hoosiers finished 33 strokes out of first place, with a 35-over par 899.

Senior David Mills opened his final collegiate season with a bang, leading the team with a two-under par 214 during the weekend. This left him tied for the fourth best score in the tournament, just three strokes off tournament-leader Roman Robledo of the University of Houston.

“It was a great experience for the team, especially for all of the younger guys,” Mills said. “We just need to look to improve on taking advantage of more opportunities next weekend.”

Through the first round, the Hoosiers occupied 11th place after posting a cumulative score of 18-over par 306. Houston sat atop the leaderboard with a nine-under par 279.

Mills set the pace for the Hoosiers on Friday with a round of two-over par 74, playing even par through his last nine holes. Junior Nicholas Grubnich produced the next lowest score, shooting four-over.
In the individual bracket, freshman Andrew Havill posted a seven-over par 79. University of Kentucky’s David Snyder tied for the best round of all players on the first day, after registering a five-under 67 to lead by three strokes amongst the individuals.

After quickly falling behind by 27 strokes, Mayer said the team needed someone to post a low score on day two.

When day two came to a close the Hoosiers had climbed up to eighth on the leaderboards, but the gap between them and first place widened to 31 strokes.

Houston retained its lead throughout the second day, setting them up to enter day three with a five-stroke edge over second place.

Mills raised the bar for the young squad around him on day two, tallying the best score in the tournament for the second round with a four-under par 68. Sophomore Max Kollin improved on his first round performance by five strokes, closing the second day with a one-over par 73.

Havill maintained his pace on day two, matching his first round score of 79 and holding down the nine spot on the individual leaderboards, leaving him tied for 67th among all participants.

He finished with a one-over par round of 73 to finish the tournament on Sunday, giving him a grand total of 231 on the weekend. He finished seventh of the 13 individuals and tied for 55th overall.

Mills and Kollin both played even par to lead the team Sunday. Kollin finished tied for 24th in the tournament.

“Max (Kollin) played really, really well this weekend after a rough first round,” Mayer said.

Follow reporter Michael Nichols on Twitter @Mike_Nichols1