Redshirt junior captain Clay Merchent led the Indiana men’s golf team to a 10th place finish out of 14 teams at the Schenkel Invitational over March 21-23.
At Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Georgia, the Hoosiers finished at a collective 18-over-par for the three-day event, repeating their 10th-place finish earlier this month at the Colleton River Collegiate.
Merchent led the way with a consistent and composed performance, finishing in a tie for 13th place at 2-under-par across 54 holes.
After opening with a 4-over-par 76 in round one, he bounced back with a 2-under-par 70 in round two, highlighted by an eagle on the front nine. He carried that momentum into a flawless back nine, setting up a strong finish to the tournament.
In the final round, Merchent posted his tournament best 4-under-par 68. A string of four birdies on the final day, including two on the back nine, secured his second top 15 finish of the season.
Freshman Bradley Chill Jr. continued to prove his value in Indiana’s lineup, finishing tied for 38th at 4-over-par for the tournament. Chill Jr. opened with an even-par 72 on Friday, staying overall bogey-free on the back nine.
After a 1-over on Saturday, he closed with a 3-over-par 75 on Sunday. Despite a challenging final round, Chill Jr. has now posted back-to-back top 40 individual finishes.
Indiana continues to see improvement throughout the season from all of its players, and the late strong play from Chill Jr. serves as a promising sign for the team’s success in the remainder of the season.
Matching Chill Jr.'s solid start, sophomore Alec Cesare also led the way Friday, carding an even-par 72 to start his weekend. His promising round featured an up-and-down stretch, with four birdies offsetting four bogeys across his first 18 holes.
Despite the strong start, Cesare faced a tough final round, finishing with a 3-over-par 75. Despite an even-par 72 in round one, he struggled in the next two rounds, including a momentum-killing double bogey that left him at 2 over par for the front nine of his final round.
Another double birdie on the back nine weighed down his scorecard yet again as he finished with a 3-over-par 75 for his final round, dropping him to 52nd overall individually.
Rounding out the starting five for this tournament were sophomores Cole Starnes and Neri Checcucci.
Fresh off a podium finish on a dominating weekend at Colleton River, Starnes struggled to find the same form in Georgia.
He finished tied individually for 68th at 13-over-par but showed signs of recovery with a 3-over-par 75 in the final round Sunday, working back from a tough outing earlier in the tournament.
Stepping up for his first match start of the season, Checcucci did not see the results he hoped for. He filled in for fellow sophomore Nick Piesen, who competed individually for this tournament.
Checcucci posted a 9-over-par round followed up with a 6-over-par performance in the second round Saturday, setting him far back in the leaderboards.
Despite the adversity, Checcucci bounced back Sunday with an even-par 72. He finished the weekend at 15-over-par, tying for 72nd individually.
Piesen finished his individual performance tied for 23rd while shooting even par 72 through 54 holes.
An opening round of 3-over-par through the first 18 holes didn’t set Piesen up for the most promising weekend, but he bounced back with a 2-under-par in round two and a 1-under-par in round three, finishing the weekend strong at even par.
The Hoosiers will compete at the Butler Spring Invitational from March 31- April 1 before hosting the Hoosier Collegiate on April 5-6 at The Pfau Course.
