Golfers get final pre-conference tune-up

This weekend marks the culmination of a season that began in early September. The men's golf team travels to East Lansing, Mich., to participate in the Bruce Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational played host to by Michigan State. \nThe Fossum/Taylor Made Invitational is the last chance for the Hoosiers to tune up for next weekend's Big Ten Tournament. The event should give IU a chance to become familiar with next week's opponents; the 15-team field includes every Big Ten team except Penn State and Purdue.\n"It's a very competitive tournament," coach Mike Mayer said. "It will tell us how we stack up right now."\nGoing into the fray for IU will be juniors Ben Davidson and Aldo Jordan and freshmen Jeff Overton, Heath Peters and Rob Ockenfuss.\n"We're going with these five the rest of the year," Mayer said.\nThe leader of the five-man squad is Overton. He is coming off of his career-best finish in last week's FirstEnergy Intercollegiate in Akron, Ohio. A three-round total of 212 (76-70-66) was good enough to put Overton in a tie for second place in the event. It also earned him distinction as the Big Ten co-Golfer of the Week.\n"I didn't even know there was such an honor for golf," Overton admitted. "It's kind of cool."\nEven though it was his best performance to this point, both Mayer and Overton feel he can play better -- something that opponents don't want to hear.\n"Jeff started 6-over par after eight holes and finished the rest at 10-under," Mayer said. "That wasn't Jeff at his best."\nOverton will be looking to further improve upon his career-best marks this weekend.\n"I'm just looking to play as well as I can," Overton said. "I feel more motivated, and that's a big key." \nOverton and the rest of the squad will need to play near the top of their game if they want to improve IU's hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament spot. Mayer has said it will take a top-two finish this week and a top-three finish at the Big Ten Tournament for the team to accomplish that goal.\nThe first obstacle will be taming MSU's Forest Akers Golf Course. The Arthur Hills-designed course is a par-72 that plays at 7,003 yards.\n"It fits in right with the courses we've played the past two weeks (OSU's Scarlet course and Firestone Country Club)," Mayer said. "This is a championship-caliber field and a championship-caliber course."\nWhile the next two tournaments will determine IU's postseason fate, the team is playing as loose and confident as ever.\n"We're playing very loose," Davidson said. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain."\nEven if the Hoosiers don't end up getting an NCAA spot, Mayer will be pleased if the team continues to demonstrate the improvement it has shown throughout the spring schedule.\n"We've gotten better each week," Mayer said. "If we keep seeing improvement, that will make me happy"