Men's golf looking to fill experience void

The IU men’s golf team participated in 13 tournaments last season, which consisted of 230 individual rounds.

Recent graduates Brant Peaper, Corey Ziedonis, Michael McGee and John Beringer were responsible for 114 of them.

With nearly half of the team’s contributors from last year gone, IU Coach Mike Mayer has had to adjust his approach.

“Things change dramatically year to year,” he said. “You never do the same things twice.”

After losing four seniors, the revamped Hoosier lineup is made up of two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.

Only four men tallied more than 10 rounds for the team last season, and senior David Mills is the lone man to have appeared in every round.
 
Mayer, in his 16th year as the coach, said this team is full of unknowns, and he has never coached a team quite like it.

“I think we are going to be pretty good, and I think we have a chance to be really good,” he said.

As the first tournament of this season approached, Mills said to look out for the freshmen and the sophomores.

“I think they’re going to be a big part of the team this year,” he said.

The question is which freshmen and sophomores.

Mayer said the tournament formats this year enable everyone to get an opportunity to play and will offer him ample opportunities to tinker with the lineups.

Other than the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational last weekend, every tournament on the Hoosier schedule this fall includes an individual bracket to accompany the standard team portion.
 
Mayer has already taken advantage of the individual bracket, getting freshman Andrew Havill some early experience in the Northern Intercollegiate.

As a result of the lack of experience on the squad, the upperclassmen have needed to accept more of a leadership role this season. Mills and senior Hugo Menendez have embraced the new role.

Menendez, who played in 27 rounds last year, has adjusted his goals to incorporate the entire team.

“As an individual, I want to play my best and win tournaments, as well as try to make my teammates better,” he said.

Mills is the only Hoosier with three full years of experience under his belt, never having missed a single tournament in his time at IU. This type of consistency makes him the prototype to which the young lineup should aspire.

“We don’t make leaders,” Mayer said. “We let leaders emerge, and I think David Mills is emerging as the leader of this team.”

He said Mills came into this season vastly more mature, demonstrating a mental edge that he did not possess in his first three years on the team.

“He’s got a much better routine, and he’s a much more stable force on the golf course,” Mayer said.

Mayer said he expects Mills to be a player to be reckoned with, not only in the conference but nationally. His performances through the first two tournaments validate his coach’s expectations.

Mills tied for fourth at the Northern Intercollegiate, earning him recognition as the Big Ten Golfer of the Week.

He then closed the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational in a tie for 12th place.

“I try to set a good example for the younger players, and I try to show them what it is to be an IU golfer,” Mills said.

He said the younger players on the roster are rarely in need of much assistance, though, and the lack of experience does not equate to any shortage of talent.

“I think that we’re a really young team now, but I feel like we definitely have a bunch of potential,” Mills said. “I think we’re capable of reaching it, too.”

Mayer said he has been pleasantly surprised by how the freshmen and sophomores have performed so far.

Sophomore Max Kollin in particular has surfaced as a consistent name at the forefront of the lineup each week.

“Max Kollin has made tremendous strides, a heralded recruit who didn’t really see any playing time last year,” Mayer said.

Kollin said he enjoys having both sides of the spectrum on the team when it comes to the youth and an experienced leader in Mills.

“I’ve never been in this kind of situation, and I think that it’s great having a leader like Mills out there to post good numbers and show us how it’s done,” Kollin said.

Mayer said all three freshmen — Havill, Will Seger and Keegan Vea — are pretty equal right now, and they all have the potential to develop into big-time collegiate golfers.

“It’s up to them to go out there and do the work to achieve that,” Mayer said.

Two of them have already appeared this season. Seger made the lineup in both tournaments, while Havill competed individually at the Northern Intercollegiate.

Mayer said both have stood out.

“Seger’s a grinder, and Andrew Havill has impressed the heck out of us,” Mayer said. “I have no doubt he will be in the lineup a lot.”

Despite the lack of collegiate tournament experience, Mayer said he expects strong play out of his team.

“Our goal is to be the best we can be and get everything we can out of every player,” Mayer said.

IU qualified for NCAA postseason play in nine of the last 10 years, and Mayer said they intend on keeping that tradition going this year and beyond.

However, the paramount goal is the Big Ten Championship.

The Big Ten title has eluded Mayer since taking over as coach in 1998, and he is determined to capture it.

“I’d give a left pinky finger for a Big Ten Championship,” he said.

Follow reporter Michael Nichols on Twitter @Mike_Nichols1.