The IU men’s golf team will swing off as the host school for its first invitational of the season, the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, this weekend in Henryville, Indiana, at Champions Pointe Golf Club.
The two-day tournament, which features two rounds of play, begins 9 a.m. Saturday. The final round will begin 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
IU Coach Mike Mayer will put out juniors Evan Gaesser and Brock Ochsenreiter, seniors Jack Sparrow and Jake Brown and sophomore Ethan Shepherd as IU's top five golfers for team play.
Ochsenreiter is not a surprise to start, as he played in all 29 stroke-play rounds last season as a sophomore. He was named an Academic All-Big Ten selection last season while also improving his stroke average by two shots from his freshman to sophomore seasons.
Brown is another familiar face on the team. The Carmel, Indiana, native reached the NCAA Regionals last season, finishing in a tie for 14th place with a score of one-under par. He was the only golfer to represent the men’s team in the postseason last year.
Shepherd is the only underclassman of the five golfers, and went 4-0 in Big Ten Match Play during his freshman season.
The other senior and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Sparrow, posted a scoring average of just over 75 in his 20 stroke-play rounds last season.
Gaesser is entering his second year with the Hoosiers after transferring from La Salle University in Philadelphia before his sophomore season. He posted a 77.2 stroke average last season, with his best finish being a tie for 40th at the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular.
The Hoosiers are entering their 21st season under Mayer, who last season coached the team to four top-10 team tournament finishes, including a pair of third-place finishes.
