Last weekend, IU men’s golf saw where they stood nationally. This weekend, they will see where they stand in the Big Ten.
This weekend’s field at the Windon Memorial at the North Shore Country Club in Chicago includes Northwestern, IU, Iowa, Michigan, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin, among others.
Florida, ranked No. 6 in the nation in August’s GCAA poll and No. 10 earlier this month by Golfweek, is the top-ranked team in a field that includes six in Golfweek’s top 100.
Windon has been the host to the likes of PGA stars Tiger Woods, Hunter Mahan, Joe Ogilvie, Gary Woodland and Luke Donald. IU’s five this weekend are seniors Andrew Havill and Keegan Vea, junior Brendon Doyle, sophomore Jake Brown and freshman Brock Ochsenreiter.
The Hoosiers finished seventh last year at Windon, with Vea and Brown leading the team tied for 17th. One year removed from filling the fifth spot in the lineup at Windon, Havill leads IU in scoring coming into the tournament. Vea reenters the lineup this week after getting bounced following a 75th-place finish at Wolf Run two weeks ago.
Unlike the first two tournaments, this one features a shorter, tighter, country club-style golf course. This means more scoring opportunities and iron-driven golf, which is beneficial for the Hoosiers’ play style, Brown said.
IU Coach Mike Mayer said Brown, although still not in top form, has the opportunity for a clutch performance from the four spot this weekend. In his final round at Windon last year, Brown shot the best final round of any player in the field with a 66.
This year is different, however. Brown and Mayer agreed the difference in disposition between last year’s team and this year’s became evident the past two weeks.
“I’ve already seen a much different culture and mentality we have going into tournaments,” Brown said. “I feel like we have the mentality now that we should be going in and winning golf tournaments, whereas last year I felt like we were just going there and trying to make our best finish and play well.”
The Hoosiers tee off against six Big Ten foes this week. Once again, they have a chance to prove themselves worthy of the nation’s respect
“We know we have the talent to post some good numbers and win some tournaments,” Brown said. “It’s a lot more exciting to play, and I think guys are playing well because they have that mentality. We have serious potential this week.”
