Indiana men’s golf teed off Monday in the Windon Memorial Classic hosted by Northwestern University. The three-day tournament welcomed 14 teams from around the country to compete at the Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Illinois.
Through the first day of competition, Indiana found themselves fighting for a chance to place. Junior Drew Salyers led the way for the Hoosiers, shooting a 141 (71-70) through the first two rounds. In his first round, Salyers shot three birdies on the front nine before finishing the round at 71 (+1). His strong second round, highlighted by three more birdies, was enough to find him tied for 13th place in the overall rankings.
Senior Mitch Davis, who tied for 18th individually, shot an impressive 68 (-2) on the first round before shooting a 74 (+4) in the second round to finish the day at 142 (68-74). His first round 68 was the lowest score for Indiana through the first round. During the second round, he recorded a team-high 15 pars en route to finishing the round at 74 (+4).
After the first day of competition, Indiana found themselves tied for 6th place with host Northwestern. A team score of 568 (+8) had them 12 strokes behind the leader Kent State University, who shot a team score of 556 (-4) through the first day of competition. Indiana was paired with University of Arkansas-Little Rock and North Florida University for the second day of competition and final round on Tuesday.
On day two of the tournament, Indiana was led by Seniors Mitch Davis and Noah Gillard. Davis and Gillard both shot a 212 (+2) score over three rounds. Gillard went under par on the last day of the tournament after shooting three birdies and 13 pars to finish at 69 (-1) for the round. This round was the most consistent of any Indiana player in the whole tournament. Davis shot even par (70) to finish at 212 and tied Gillard for a 13th place individual finish. His third and final round was highlighted by six birdies, three each on the front and back nine.
Senior Eric Berggren, who competed as an individual, shot a team best 68 (-2) on the final round of play. His round consisted of five birdies, enough to tie him for 28th overall with a three-round score of 215 (+5). Junior Drew Salyers was able to notch himself a top-20 finish after a 72 (+2) on his final round, which placed him tied for 18th overall. This round was highlighted by two birdies and an eagle on the Par-5 552 yard 13th hole.
Indiana ended the tournament with a combined team score of 853 (+13), good enough for a 7th place finish overall. Next up for the Hoosiers is the Purdue Fall Invitational on Oct. 10-11. Indiana, who won the tournament in 2021, will look repeat as champions.
