Quirarte knows where he needs to be to lead

While finishing strong is crucial in any sport, sophomore Santiago Quirarte of the IU men's golf team has found out this season that how you start can be just as important.\nQuirarte's 73.67 scoring average is second on the team, yet it is clear Quirarte hasn't been getting off to the best starts so far this season. Quirarte averages 74.8 for his first and second rounds and 71.3 in his final rounds. And while head coach Mike Mayer tries to break in his talented freshman class early in the season, he looks for Quirarte to become a more consistent presence in tournaments.\n"He's an outstanding, talented young man," Mayer said. "But he's got to understand what numbers he needs to shoot for this team to be successful."\nIt is hard to imagine any coach not being extremely pleased with an overall average like Quirarte's, but the Queretaro, Mexico, native is no average player.\nQuirarte came to IU as the No. 1 junior in Mexico, and is coming off a freshman season in which he played in every tournament with a 74.53 average. After his summer, Quirarte had members of the Mexican national team calling Mayer, in hopes of landing the young player on their team. Despite all the pressure and expectations, no one expects more of Quirarte than Quirarte himself.\n"I haven't played even close to what I am capable of and am adjusting to a new environment and new classes," Quirarte said. "In the summer, I played really good, but I didn't have school either."\nWith the added pressure of school, Quirarte decided to spend the last few weeks focusing more on the mental aspect of his game.\n"The mental game needs practice also," he said. "It's not like you are going to go out and play good without practicing the mental part."\nIn order to improve this part of his game, Quirarte tries focusing more on the start of a tournament and also sees a sports psychologist.\n"When I finish strong, it's because I didn't like the way I'm playing, and I focus more," Quirarte said. "I need to start being more motivated to start stronger, and I am working with a psychologist to be more focused, and it's helped me a lot."\nAs the Hoosiers begin the Pac Ten/Big Ten Challenge in Chicago today, Quirarte hopes to apply all the work he has done on the mental game and is excited he finally gets a break from school. He hopes that will lead to the same mindset and results he had over the summer.\n"I am going to be done with a lot of exams this week, so it's going to be a lot easier school-wise," he said. "So I will be totally focused on golf -- and hopefully put everything together and make (this) weekend a lot of fun"