IU men’s golf has had three consecutive fall seasons that included two top-10 tournament finishes.
For IU Coach Mike Mayer, however, the most recent fall season felt like one of the most successful ones in a while.
“We want to continue to see the attitude we saw in the fall, the kind of passion,” Mayer said. They’re pushing each other, which we’ve got to have and continue to have.”
The spring season for the Hoosiers will begin Friday when the team heads down to Palm Coast, Florida, for Big Ten match play.
A large part of the fall success was centered around the consistent play of junior Jake Brown who had two top-eight finishes in the fall.
“His management skills have improved dramatically,” Mayer said. “He knows what shots he can hit and when he can hit them, and that’s enabled him to really get better.”
Another standout for IU in the fall was the improvement throughout the season of freshman Evan Yakubov.
Yakubov, who participated in all but one tournament in the fall, was primarily playing as an individual and had his best finish at the Crooked Stick Invitational in October when he finished tied-14.
“That young man can’t get enough of golf, and he’s able to handle anything you throw at him,” Mayer said. “His work ethic is second to none.”
In the east region, No. 6 IU will face top-ranked Penn State and No. 2 Michigan State in the first two rounds Friday before playing No. 7 Rutgers on Saturday. Following that, the teams will be placed accordingly in the final round to determine final seeding.
Stefan Krajisnik
