The IU men’s golf senior led the way for the Hoosiers at Northern Illinois University’s Northern Intercollegiate at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course.
Grubnich posted rounds of 77-72-69 for a tournament total of 218 to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place, six shots back of Winthrop’s Zach Seabolt, who took medalist honors.
“Overall, I’d say it was a really good week for me,” Grubnich said. “It was kind of a rough start with the 77 ... Fortunately for me, I put together two nice rounds and went up the leaderboard pretty ?quickly.”
IU Coach Mike Mayer said his Hoosier lineup had a few too many bad stretches of holes en route to finishing 11th out of 13 teams in the field. IU finished with a three-round team total of 927 (+63), 48 shots behind the Virginia Cavaliers, who finished first.
But Grubnich’s rounds helped ensure at least one Hoosier near the top of the leaderboard.
Grubnich’s top-five finish to start the college season is the latest in what has been a hot streak of golf for the Crown Point, Ind., native.
He enters his final collegiate season having just completed what he said was one of the best summers of his golf career.
Riding the momentum from a tied-for-seventh-place finish in last May’s Big Ten Championship, Grubnich led wire to wire to claim the 114th Indiana Amateur by three shots in June.
The win in the Indiana Amateur qualified Grubnich for last month’s U.S. Amateur Championship, which he competed in shortly before his final IU season began.
“After this summer, we really expected him to come in here and lead this program, and obviously he showed in this tournament that he’s capable of doing that,” Mayer sai d .
After going through a swing change his sophomore season, Grubnich said he’s been able to build confidence in himself and his reconfigured swing throughout the past year.
Grubnich said when he struggled on the course, it was partly because he was playing scared.
He wasn’t always willing to hit the shots he needed to hit.
But after having success in some of the most prestigious amateur golf tournaments in the country, Grubnich said he’s fully confident in his swing.
The results show it.
“Things have been coming together the last six months,” Grubnich said. “I don’t really feel any different, just more comfortable out there and confident in myself that I can pull off the shots that I need to.”
Mayer said Grubnich started to make major strides at the end of last season, culminating in his top-10 finish at the Big Ten Tournament. He said success breeds success, and Grubnich is playing the best golf he’s seen him play.
“I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Mayer said. “He’s got all the game to be one of the players in the Big Ten who can compete week in, week out for titles and, in the end, compete for a Big Ten championship. He’s got the length. He’s got, right now, the confidence, which is important to say the least.”
Mayer sent two freshmen, Brendon Doyle and Christian Fairbanks, to the season’s opening tournament for the second consecutive year.
Doyle was the second-highest finishing Hoosier competitor, excluding Andrew Havill, who tied for 32nd place as an individual. Doyle finished tied for 38th with rounds of 77-80-74 (231).
Fairbanks, who was a co-medalist for Columbus North High School in the 2014 Indiana Boys State Championship in Columbus, Ind., last season, finished in 68th place with a three-day total of 241.
“Tough way to start for a freshman with this kind of golf course and this kind of tournament, but you’ve got to start somewhere,” Mayer said. “Brendon Doyle’s the real deal, and Christian Fairbanks will be the real deal, but he’s got some work to do.”
Sophomore Will Seger finished in a tie for 58th with a 237. Junior Max Kollin struggled, finishing in 72nd place with a 250 after three rounds in the 80s.
Although questions surround the specifics of the lineup early on, Mayer said Grubnich proved himself to be capable of being the senior leader his team needs this season.
He said there’s no question Grubnich is playing his best golf right now, but he’s still got room to grow.
After the summer he has had and the successful opening to his senior campaign, Grubnich said the next step is to turn the 77s into 73s and 74s so he can compete for the medalist honors next time.
“That’s kind of what the really good players do,” Grubnich said. “Their bad rounds are still right around par, but I’m still working on it. It’ll get there.
“I mean, it’s the first college event of the year. The summer amateur golf is over, so it’s kind of a new season for us. Hopefully just from here I continue the success every time in this situation in the future.”
