Golfers enter key stretch

The men's golf team will go to Huntington, W.Va., to play in the Marshall Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The tournament will be held at the Guyan Golf and Country Club and will feature 20 teams. The meet will be the first time IU has played outside of the state of Florida since the spring season began in March.\n"This is not only a return to Midwestern golf, but it's a big swing in our (NCAA) district," Coach Mike Mayer said.\nMayer described the course as a mixture of the styles that were seen in Florida and the northern courses that the team will be playing for the rest of the season.\nThe Hoosier lineup will consist of juniors Ben Davidson, Aldo Jordan and Mike Miller, as well as freshmen Heath Peters and Jeff Overton. This will be the first time that Mayer will have less than three freshmen in the lineup since the Tillinghast in late October.\n"With three juniors, hopefully we'll find more maturity and leadership," Mayer said.\nMayer also said the fast greens at Guyan made it vital to have his best putters in the lineup.\nWith five other Big Ten teams in the field, the results of the tournament should give the Hoosiers a good feel as to where they stand in the conference with a month left before the Big Ten Tournament.\n"This tournament starts our most important phase of the season," Mayer said. "It's what happens from now to the end of the season that determines if we get an NCAA bid."\nIowa coach Terry Anderson believes his team will also be able to turn it up a notch to compete at the Marshall Invitational.\n"Last week we had a great week of practice, and the guys are all very motivated to go to Marshall and put together a solid tournament," Anderson said.\nAll participating teams will have to deal with the menace that is Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the defending champions and have won the event 16 times in its 32-year history.\nIU finished 14th in the tournament last season.