Men's golf tied for fifth after 36 holes at Crooked Stick

The IU men’s golf team completed one of its best tournament rounds this season, navigating what IU Coach Mike Mayer called quick, championship caliber greens.

The first two rounds of the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate took place Monday.

With the first 36 holes in the book, the Hoosiers are tied for fifth place.

At a score of 604 through two rounds, they are currently 19 shots off the first place pace set by Georgia.

Through the first 18 holes, the IU men’s golf team was tied for fourth place on the leaderboards, just seven strokes out of first place Florida State.

This marked the best position the Hoosiers have been in through the first round of any tournament this season.

“We actually didn’t start that well, but yet we steadied the ship pretty quickly,” Mayer said.

Junior Nicholas Grubnich led the way for the Hoosiers in the first round with an even-par round of 72, leaving him tied for fifth individually through one round.

Sophomore Max Kollin and senior David Mills were close behind with scores of 2-over par 74 and 3-over par 75, placing them in ties for 12th and 18th.

Competing as an individual, senior Hugo Menendez shot a 4-over par 76 to put him in a tie for 27th place through the first round.

In the second round, Grubnich lost his momentum and put forth a 10-over par 82.
Mills continued his strong play with a round of three-over par 75, leaving him in a tie for 19th place at 150.

Freshman Will Seger provided the top score in the second round amongst the
Hoosiers involved in the team portion.

Seger shot a one-over par 73 to put him at 151 through the first day of action.
Kollin also sits at 151, and he and Seger are both tied for 24th place.

After a rough start left him at five over through six holes, Seger escalated his level of play.

He shot two-over par through the last 30 holes.

“When you’re on a tough golf course like this, you need to keep getting a feel for every shot, keep committing to every shot,” he said.

Menendez upped his first round performance on his way to climbing  up the overall leaderboards to a tie for sixth place.

Menendez finished with a one-under par round of 71 to move him to 147 through two rounds.

Since Menendez was left off the team portion, this forced the top Hoosier score to be left off the official team scorecard.

Mayer said the whole team is capable of putting up rounds like this.

“I think we have a pretty interchangeable team, with a lot of options,” he said.

By the end of the second round, the team had 36 holes and 11 hours on the golf course under their belts.

Mayer said this left the team with a keen understanding of the course and in need of rest.

“We know the golf course, and we know the conditions,” he said. “It’s up to us now.”

Follow reporter Mike Nichols on Twitter @Mike_Nichols1.