IU looks for 3rd tourney win of spring season

The IU men’s golf team looks to improve its record this weekend at the Kepler Intercollegiate tournament in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by Ohio State. \nThe team hopes to play 54 holes, but weather might prevent two full rounds of play on both Saturday and Sunday. \nThe Hoosiers will compete against 15 other teams on the 7,454-yard course, with par set at 71. \nWith weather conditions similar to last weekend – cold with predicted rain – the team must maintain sharp mental focus and strict discipline, IU coach Mike Mayer said. \n“These teams are good we’re competing against,” Mayer said. “They’re real good and we have to be at the very top of our game.” \nIn the lineup for the Hoosiers this weekend will be junior Santiago Quirarte, sophomores Jorge Campillo, Seth Brandon and Drew Allenspach, and freshman Alex Martin.\nQuirarte did not travel to West Lafayette last weekend, and Mayer said adding him back into the lineup will be a major factor in the team’s success this weekend.\nThe Ohio State course might be the longest in collegiate golf, Mayer added, and will be extremely difficult. The Hoosiers will go into the tournament mentally prepared, and also expecting severe weather conditions, as they did for the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend, he said. \nThe course has undergone some changes since last year, and the team hopes to get acquainted with the new terrain during practice rounds today. \nThe team has been focusing in practice mostly on tweaking swings, along with their short game and putting. \n“We have to eliminate mental errors,” Brandon said. “We have to learn to accept bogeys and a couple situations that you’re not usually going to be put in when the weather’s not quite that bad.” \nMayer expects the entire team to play well. With support from the entire team, the Hoosiers look to bring home their third win of the season. \n“I think we can win the tournament,” Quirarte said. “As a team, I think that we have a very strong lineup. Confidence is important. With that, I think we can bring the trophy back.”