The IU men’s golf team will return to action for the first time in nearly four months Friday in the Big Ten Match Play in Hammock Beach, Florida.
“It is the same season, but at the same time we’ve had some time off,” IU head coach Mike Mayer said. “It’s time to reevaluate things.”
The match play is set up like a tournament, with the top three seeds earning a bye. It’s a head-to-head matchup, and teams are seeded based on their national ranking. IU is ranked 87th in the country, according to the Big Ten, and will likely play Penn State in the first round, but the official draw doesn’t come out until Wednesday.
The number one players on each team will face each other, and so on. Each team has six total spots. The player who does better on each hole wins the hole, and the player who wins the most holes wins the matchup.
In order to avoid stacking lineups, the spots for each team are chosen based on the player’s individual national ranking. Sophomore Mitch Davis will slot into the top spot.
Mayer said since match play is so much different than a normal tournament, it’s hard to compare how IU stands against Penn State. He said he believes that the Nittany Lions’ top three fair better than the Hoosiers’, but that his team holds the advantage in the bottom three.
“I think we’re a little deeper than most,” Mayer said. “We have more depth, and we’re seeing that depth develop.”
Davis was not as subtle in his evaluation of the team.
“I might be a little biased, but I think we’re the best team there,” Davis said. “We just haven’t shown it yet.”
Mayer said he doesn’t expect any sort of curve trying to catch up to playing outside after dealing with an Indiana winter. Mayer took his team to Florida last week to practice, something he believes could give them an advantage over teams like Penn State that don't travel.
Mayer said a strong start to the spring season will provide the Hoosiers with momentum for the rest of the year. Davis added that a strong showing could prove IU is competitive.
“The best way to set the tone is to come out with a W,” Davis said. “That would be huge to prove ourselves in that tournament — in the Big Ten Match Play. It would be a springboard for the rest of the season.”
If IU beats Penn State, it will advance to play Purdue in the second round.
“We’d love to play Purdue,” Mayer said. “We feel like you beat them once in the fall, we can take them.”
Mayer said the Big Ten is wide open, perhaps the most he has ever seen. If IU performs well down the stretch, Mayer said he thinks the team can compete for the Big Ten Championship in May.
