To kick off the new year, the Indiana men’s golf team left Charleston, SC, with a fourth place finish in the Battle at Briar’s Creek.
Indiana and the remaining 13 schools battled inclement weather in the first round, forcing the competition to end after 36 holes, instead of 54. Senior Drew Salyers and sixth-year senior Noah Gillard led the Hoosiers with their impressive scorecards.
On Day 1, Salyers and Gillard propelled the Hoosiers to a fourth place position after 18 holes. Gillard ended the first round with four birdies, finishing with a 71(-1), and with a final card of 142 (71-71;-2). Gillard led Indiana with seven total birdies while recording his second top-5 finish this season.
Salyers also played a crucial role in Indiana’s success in Charleston. He tallied the second most birdies for Indiana, carding six of them —four of which occurred in the second round. The former All-Big Ten First Team nominee ended the competition matching Gillard at 142 (72-70, -2), tying for fourth place out of 75 competitors.
The Battle at Briar’s Creek consisted of eight schools ranked in the top-100, according to Golfstat. Clemson University took the victory, No. 23 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga finished second and No. 85 Augusta University ended the tournament in third. The Hoosiers held the fourth place spot after both Days 1 and 2, finishing with a team score of 581 (289-292, +5).
Still, battling wind gusts and rain during the first round didn’t prevent the rest of Indiana’s starters — graduate student Thomas Hursey, freshmen Cole Starnes and Nick Piesen, and redshirt junior Robert Bender III — from scoring.
Hursey tied for 15th individually at 145 (73-72, +1), while also recording three birdies in each round. It marks his second top-15 finish of the season. The trio of Gillard, Salyers and Hursey kept Indiana inside the top-5 throughout both days of the tournament.
The contributions from Starnes and Piesen also kept Indiana in contention throughout rounds one and two. Starnes placed 48th and shot a 152 (73-79, +8) with three birdie conversions. His freshman counterpart, Nick Piesen, recorded a final scorecard of 153 (76-77,; +9), which included four birdies resulting in a 53rd place finish.
The Hoosiers will take the next four weeks off, returning to action at the Colleton River Collegiate hosted by Michigan State on March 4-5. The competition will be held at Colleton River Golf Club in Bluffton, SC.
Follow reporter Charlie Huiras (@Charlie_Huiras) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s golf season.
