IU finishes 3rd at Pinehurst Intercollegiate

Senior Jeff Overton made his case again for being named Big Ten and National Golfer of the Year when he finished second in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate Championship.\nThe Hoosiers made a strong showing by firing a three-round score of 888, finishing 12 shots behind runner-up Xavier University and 13 shots behind champion Southern Methodist University to finish third in the field of 13. The team's performance could see the Hoosiers rise back into GolfWeek's top-50 poll, as the Hoosiers finished behind two teams ranked in top 50. \n"We were not hitting on all cylinders this tournament," said IU coach Mike Mayer. "Some of that is due to some really tough conditions the first two rounds, but when we peak, we will do much better."\nOverton shot three rounds of par or better en route to his second top-five finish of the spring season and his sixth top-five finish in eight events this year. The Evansville native's 5-under 211 was one shot more than medalist Colt Knost of Southern Methodist. Overton held a four-stoke advantage as he made the turn to the last nine holes of the tournament. On the strength of hitting five putts more than 30 feet in length, Knost caught Overton before the 18th hole. Overton's drive found the water on 18, and Knost took medalist honors.\n"I really wanted to win this tournament," Overton said. "The way it ended leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I learned a lot from this tournament that I will use later on this season."\nOverton's strong performance comes after being named one of the 10 semifinalists for the prestigious Hogan Award. The award, which recognizes the top college golfer -- taking into account collegiate and amateur events over the last year -- will be awarded May 14.\nJunior Scott Seibert's final-round score of 5-under 67 was the low score of the tournament for any player. Seibert's final round propelled him into a fourth-place finish as he shot a 2-over 218 for the event. Seibert's final round 67 was his second lowest round as a Hoosier, and his fourth-place finish was a career-best and his first top-10 finish.\n"I hit the ball well all tournament," Seibert said. "My putter got really hot today, and I was able to post a really low score."\nFreshman Santiago Quirarte followed up the best performance of his college career last week with another solid tournament. The Big Ten Player of the Week finished in a tie for 15th place, carding a 12-over 228 with rounds of 77, 76 and 75.\nSenior Heath Peters and junior Brad Marek rounded out the scoring for the Hoosiers. Peters finished in a tie for 31st place with a score of 15-over 231, and Marek finished in a tie for 52nd place after he fired a 22-over 238 for the tournament.\nThe Hoosiers have some time off at the midway point of the spring season before their next tournament when they travel north to face another strong field, including intrastate rival Purdue at the Boilermaker Invitational. The invitational will occur April 16 and 17 in West Lafayette.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Chris Engel at ccengel@indiana.edu.