IU men’s golf was one of seven teams to post a team score under par in the third round at Kampen Course this weekend, closing with a 1-under 287 to finish in eighth place out of 15 teams at the Boilermaker Invite.
"It wasn't a great round, but it was a solid round," IU Coach Mike Mayer said.
IU opened with a team score of 12-over 300 to sit in seventh place after round one before posting a 17-over 305 in round two.
During Sunday’s round, the Hoosiers shot a 1-under 287 to land them in 8th and 28-over for the tournament. Senior Andrew Havill and sophomore Jake Brown shot two and three under par, respectively. The duo led the Hoosiers in the final round and finished tied for 19 and tied for 23, respectively.
Freshman Brock Ochsenreiter paced the IU contingent in the initial 36 holes and fired off back-to-back rounds of 2-over par 74 Saturday. He carded two birdies and three bogeys in his first round and then added three more birdies in his second round.
Havill joined Ochsenreiter in the top 25 after logging rounds of 74 and 76 on Saturday to put him in a tie for 25th. In round one, he was 1-over on both the front and the back but got off to a rough start on the back nine in round two. After playing the back nine in 5-over par, he rallied to play the front nine in 1-under par on his way to a 76.
Brown played consistent golf in his first two rounds, and posted a score of 4-over par 76 in both rounds to tie for 38th at 8-over.
Junior Christian Fairbanks opened with a 76 and followed it up with a 79, which put him at 11-over par through 36 holes. Fairbanks’ final-round 77 gave him a score of 232 for the weekend and a tie for 67th at 16-over par.
Sophomore Jack Sparrow also opened with a 76 in round one and settled for an 80 in round two. Sparrow got off to a tough start in his final round by playing the first six holes in 2-over par. But as he moved to the front nine, he regrouped and played it 3-under par before closing with a pair of bogeys to post a score of 73.
During a weekend where wind whipped and the course did not forgive, three Hoosiers shot under par Sunday.
The story of the weekend wasn't the weather, however. It was Brown.
After playing every tournament last season and leading the team in scoring, Brown has slid to third in the lineup. Although Havill dominated this weekend, as he has the majority of the season, Brown shot the Hoosiers' lowest score Sunday.
Mayer spent all of Brown's 69 shots alongside him. He said he sees Brown's performance returning to its previous luster.
"His putter speed was outstanding," Mayer said. "His game is slowly coming back to where he wants it, where it needs to be."
