Postseason begins for IU at Ohio State’s golf course

For the Hoosiers, this season’s success means nothing if the team can’t win now.\nThe No. 23 Hoosiers have won two tournaments and finished in the top 10 in every other tournament but one.\nHowever, if the Hoosiers are to make it past this weekend’s NCAA Central Regional and have a chance at a National Championship, they must muster one more top-10 finish against the nation’s top teams.\nCompounding the difficulty of Regionals is the fact that the tournament takes place at Ohio State’s Scarlett Golf Course, known as one of the trickiest collegiate golf courses in the country, according to IU coach Mike Mayer. \nBut junior Drew Allenspach thinks the layout of the course suits IU perfectly since they are familiar with its design.\n“Ohio State’s (golf) course sets up well for us as it’s long and difficult and these are the courses we’ve played on all year,” Allenspach said.\nThe tournament takes place Thursday through Saturday and begins each day at 7 a.m. Mayer thinks IU’s experience may pay off in the tournament. \n“There are 320 Division I men’s golf teams that have been around a long time and we’re a veteran team and I think we’re ready and know what Regionals are all about,” Mayer said. \nIU Junior Jorge Campillo thinks coming out on top in the tournament may be difficult, however.\n“You have the number one and two teams in the country at Regionals, so being a winner there is hard,” Campillo said. \nThe Hoosier lineup will be the same for the sixth straight tournament, featuring Allenspach and Campillo as well as fellow junior Seth Brandon, sophomore Alex Martin and freshman Ren Han.\nCompeting against the No. 8 seed Hoosiers will be 26 other teams, including Big Ten rivals Michigan, Penn State, Illinois and host Ohio State.\nAllenspach thinks IU’s success this year is due to a fast start from day one of the season. \n“We’ve played solidly all year and got off to a good start in the fall allowing us to focus on postseason play and get into a comfort zone,” Allenspach said.