Team heads to meet minus top player

The men's golf team will begin their Friday morning in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the two-day Wolverine Invitational. In addition to being in the midst of a deep 20-team field, the team will have to adjust to the loss of top player senior Mike Miller for the meet and the rest of the fall season because of a wrist injury.\nThe Wolverine Invitational features a diverse field with Air Force, Akron, Ball State, Baylor, Eastern Michigan, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Notre Dame, West Florida, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin and Xavier.\n"This is a very deep, tough field," head coach Mike Mayer said. "We have a tough fall schedule (in general)."\nWhile the competition was already looking to be tough, the Hoosiers were dealt a devastating blow earlier this week when it was learned that Miller would need surgery to repair a dislocated tendon in his right wrist. Miller posted the low score for the team in the season-opening Badger Invitational. \n"My wrist will be immobilized for six to seven weeks and I won\'t be able to hit golf balls until late January," Miller said. Miller is set to have surgery Oct. 10.\nAs a result of Miller\'s injury, the team will have three freshmen in the five-man lineup, which is the first time in Mayer\'s twelve years of involvement with the program that the lineup has been inundated with more than two freshmen. The three freshmen playing at Michigan will be Jeff Overton, Heath Peters, and Rob Ockenfuss. Juniors Aldo Jordan and Ben Davidson will also play for the team this weekend. Junior Brett Hardin will accompany the team and play as an individual in the tournament.\nDespite the loss of Miller, the coaching staff is optimistic the Hoosiers will recover. \n"Any of the three freshmen could definitely step in those shoes," assistant coach Mike Kemper said. "If this teams gonna be any good, Aldo is also gotta pick up his play a little bit."\nIU heads to Michigan to play competitive golf for the first time since Sunday, Sept. 9 when they played in the Badger Invitational. The Northern Intercollegiate at Iowa was among the events cancelled as all IU sports took the weekend after the terrorist attacks off. \nMayer said he does not believe the team will be rusty as a result of the long layoff, but instead come out fresh and invigorated.\n"We had two weeks of practice where we found out a lot about ourselves as a team," Mayer said.\nOne of the unusual aspects of the Wolverine Invitational is that it is only a 36-hole tournament. Teams will play 18 Friday and Sunday and take Saturday off due to the rescheduled Michigan-Illinois football game and Michigan Stadium\'s proximity to the golf course. To make up for the inconvenience, coaches and teams were supplied with tickets for the game.\nWith a day off in between rounds, Mayer emphasizes the importance of the Hoosiers getting off to a quick start in the first round.\n"We fell out of the gate at Wisconsin, and that is the biggest hurdle to clear," Mayer said. "If we can get off to a good start, we can really surprise some people"