Hoosiers to play in Big Ten Match Play Championship

The IU men’s golf team travels to Bradenton, Fla., this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Match Play Championship, the team’s first competition of the spring season.

The Hoosiers will square off with Wisconsin in the first round. This is the only match play event on IU’s schedule unless the team makes it to the final eight of the NCAA Championships.

IU senior David Mills said the team will have to keep that in mind throughout the tournament and, in some circumstances, change the way it plays.

“It’s a different format so there’s a different mindset and we have to prepare for that,” Mills said. “In certain situations, you might want to be a little more aggressive and in others, you might just need to hit a green to win a hole and not have to do anything spectacular.”

IU is a relatively inexperienced team when it comes to collegiate match play, as Mills is the only player who has competed in the format as a collegiate. But sophomore Nicholas Grubnich said the team isn’t totally new to this type of tournament.

“All the in-state kids were saying earlier that, in high school, our big state match play tournament was a really big deal and a bunch of us played in that,” Grubnich said. “So we’ve had some exposure to match play competition before.”

The team has not had much exposure to green grass in the last few months. IU Coach Mike Mayer said the winter offseason was harder than usual this year and this competition will be a good chance for the team to get back into form.

This is the first official action IU has seen since October in the Pinetree Intercollegiate. The team traveled to Florida last weekend to play in the Alumni Match, an event Mayer called a “glorified practice.”

“It’s been a brutal winter for a sport like golf,” Mayer said. “We have been hitting some balls inside but that doesn’t always prepare one for a tournament. This is a chance to knock some rust off early in the Spring.”

Mayer said his team is excited about this weekend and it’s a great chance to not just get back into form, but also show off their skills. The Big Ten Network will be there to film the event and Mayer said that further motivates the team.

“The course we are playing is hosting the NCAA Championships in 2015, so it’s a really great golf course,” Mayer said. “The cameras bring another level of excitement, but at this point, we like that excitement. We like to show off.”

IU will try to maintain that level of motivation throughout the weekend. The team’s ambitions are high, but Mills said they are achievable.

“Our goals are to win the tournament,” Mills said. “I think we can do it. Everyone else in the Big Ten has been in this crappy weather. If we put together a few rounds and beat some guys, you never know.”

Follow reporter Casey Krajewski on Twitter @KazKrajewski