Season rolls on, honors roll in for Overton

As the men's golf team continues its stretch of five tournaments in five weekends this Saturday and Sunday at the Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus, Ohio, its has many advantages going for it. The Hoosiers are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend, their fourth consecutive top-five finish. \nIU placed ahead of such national powers as eighth-place, No. 5 Oklahoma State and 10th-place, No. 18 Oklahoma. And when the Hoosiers tee off tomorrow morning, they will do so with co-Big Ten Golfer of the Week junior Jeff Overton. Overton shares the fourth conference Golfer of the Week award of his career with Ohio State senior Kevin Hall. \nAs Overton goes, so go the Hoosiers. Overton has led the way for the team since a remarkable fall campaign that saw him win four titles in four tournaments. The Hoosiers have relied on Overton's steady performances to keep them in contention all season long. And as the Hoosiers enter the busiest part of their schedule, they will continue to rely on Overton for leadership.\n"It takes some pressure off of everybody else," junior Heath Peters said, "when you can really rely on somebody like Jeff to go out there and shoot a solid score every round. It lets you just go out there and play golf and not have to worry about your score as much when you know you have someone like Jeff in the lineup."\nWith the continued presence of Overton and a string of top-five finishes, the Hoosiers have reason to be confident. But at the same time, the team members realize much work remains if they are to regain the form that helped them to three victories in four fall tournaments. \nSophomore Brad Marek believes better focus will be critical during the stretch of five tournaments in five weeks.\n"Every time we tee it up, the goal is to always win," Marek said. "I just want to go out there with a good mindset, stay focused all 54 holes and not throw any shots away. Because one shot can make a difference in the end."\nIU coach Mike Mayer believes his team must work on not giving away shots, but he also feels the Hoosiers have proven they can compete with the top programs in the nation.\n"(Finishing fifth at the Boilermaker Invitational) is going to do nothing but give us confidence and help us prepare for the rest of the season. Even though we feel that we had a so-so tournament, we are very capable of competing with these top, nationally-ranked teams," Mayer said. "But we have some areas we need to work on. We left some shots on the golf course that we should not have left out there."\nThe Kepler Intercollegiate is set to begin with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start and 36 holes of play Saturday. The tournament's final round will take place at 8 p.m. Sunday. The Kepler Intercollegiate will feature an 18-team field including host Ohio State.\n-- Contact staff writer Charlie Gillingham at cgilling@indiana.edu.