IU wins Big Red Shootout in season opener

More than 1,000 miles away from blustery Bloomington where snowflakes fell by the inches, the IU men’s golf team began its spring season Saturday by defeating Ball State in the Big Red Shootout at Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, Fla.

In the morning rounds, the Hoosiers failed to lose a single match.

Junior Chase Wright and sophomores Brant Peaper, Corey Ziedonis and Kyle Perry won their morning matches, all claiming victories before the final hole. Wright and Peaper closed out their opponents with two holes left, but the surprise of the day, according to IU coach Mike Mayer, was the play of Ziedonis, who won his morning match after only 14 holes.

“Corey had probably the best performance of any match we played all day,” Mayer said. “He was our shining star.”

Co-captain Wright and the rest of the team members played strong behind him, matching their four morning wins with four in the afternoon.  

Wright followed up his win in the morning matches with a defeat of Ball State’s No. 1 player, senior Eric Steger, while they were without co-captain David Erdy, who was playing in an amateur event.

“Chase was really strong for us. He just really was determined not to lose,” Mayer said. “That was a big thing to do without Erdy.”

With the depth his team displayed Saturday, Mayer still has the burden of deciding which player will be the fifth man on the competing roster.

But he stands assured of one thing.

“Ball State is a good team, but we thumped them pretty good,” Mayer said. “We thumped them, we left no doubt on the golf course.”