Campillo, Martin share 2nd at prestigious Isleworth tourney

Last season, the IU men’s golf team made progress when it qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.

The Hoosiers placed 21st as a team, the second-best finish in program history, and senior Jorge Campillo earned All-American honors with his second-place finish individually.

The Hoosiers placed third this week in the Isleworth UCF Collegiate in Orlando, Fla., which featured eight of the top 10 teams in the country.

“The field was outstanding, an NCAA Finals caliber field,” IU coach Mike Mayer said. “To finish third in this field was an outstanding accomplishment.”

Individually, Campillo and junior Alex Martin both shared second place, with 2-under 214 totals over the three-round event.

Although he finished second Campillo said he was not pleased with how the tournament finished.

“If you would have told me before I go down there that I would finish second in the tournament I would probably be happy about it,” he said. “But leading by five with nine holes to go I’m not really happy about it, I’m kinda sad and disappointed about it.”

The tournament is regarded by many as one of the nation’s premier tournaments and takes place at the Isleworth Golf and Country Club, where members include PGA greats such as Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara and Lee Janzen.

Campillo, who has won two tournaments already this year and eight overall in his IU career, battled down the stretch with Georgia’s Russell Henley for the individual title at Isleworth.

Campillo, who came into the final round Tuesday with a one-stroke deficit, used four birdies over the first nine holes to build a five-stroke advantage. The back nine did not go well, however, as he started off with a double bogey on hole 10.

By the time Campillo and Henley finished hole 16, they were deadlocked at 4-under par, and stayed that way going into the final hole. On the par 4, 477-yard 18th hole, Campillo got into trouble and double bogeyed. Henley put in his par putt and claimed a two-stroke victory.

The Hoosiers also were reunited with former assistant coach Josh Brewer for the first time since Brewer left IU for Southern California at the beginning of the season. The Hoosiers out-shot USC by eight strokes.

After the tournament Brewer had to apologize to him team.

“I told them I’m sorry I did such a great job recruiting at IU,” he said.

Many teams struggled during the final day, including the Hoosiers, who shot a team score of 24-over par for a total score of 886 (22-over). The Georgia Bulldogs shot 8-over par final round (3-over total) to claim the team championship, their fourth in the five-year history of the tournament.

Senior Seth Brandon carded a 12-over 228 to finish in 41st place. Fellow senior Drew Allenspach rounded out the team score with a 16-over 232 to finish in 57th place.

The Isleworth tournament, formed by UCF men’s golf coach Nick Clinard was set up to give the players a taste of what it is like to be a professional, and the players were treated very well.

This tournament concludes the Hoosiers’ fall season. The team will practice as best they can through the winter and resume play at the inaugural Big Ten Match Play Championship on Feb. 13-14 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

From the success of the fall season Mayer said he feels they are an improved team.

“There is no question now we feel like we belong, we really feel like we belong, and we believe we can play with any team in the country.”