For its final regular season match, Indiana men’s golf will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to play in the 50th edition of the Kepler Intercollegiate. The event is named after Robert Kepler, who was the head golf coach of Ohio State from 1938-1965. Kepler is known for coaching legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus to an individual national championship with the Buckeyes.
It’s a quick turnaround for Indiana, who finished ninth in the Boilermaker Invitational on April 9-10.
Indiana is still seeking a postseason berth, and nearly got knocked out of contention in West Lafayette a few weeks ago.
“We need a knockout,” head coach Mike Mayer said.
Historically, the Hoosiers have placed well at the Kepler Intercollegiate. The Hoosiers have won this tournament four times, most recently in the 1980 season. Indiana is just one of 12 teams in the 49-year history of the event to hoist the trophy at least four times.
Individually, two Indiana golfers have finished at the top of the leaderboard at the event. All-American Wayne McDonald was the first to win in 1971, and just two years later honorable mention All-American Kevin Proctor did the same.
Due to recent results, Indiana has dropped out of the top-50 of the latest GolfWeek rankings. There will be 13 teams in total competing, including eight Big Ten schools and four teams that are ranked inside of the top 50. No. 20 University of Illinois, No. 33 Michigan State University, the hosts No. 34 Ohio State University and No. 48 Northwestern University are all ranked. Indiana will tee off with the Wildcats and Kent State University from the 10th tee box at approximately 7:40 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re gonna have to be at the top of our game,” Mayer stated. “Truthfully, we haven’t been there since the Big Ten Match Play Championship. We gotta find that mojo again, the belief, and we have to come out swinging.”
For the second tournament in a row, 54 holes will be played in total, with 36 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Live scoring will be available here.
