Veteran IU squad starts year in Illinois

With nine returning players among the IU men’s golf team for the 2011-12 season, the collegiate golf circuit does not have many secrets for the veteran bunch.

The Hoosiers will open their fall season this weekend at the Northern Intercollegiate in Aurora, Ill. Northern Illinois will have the 54-hole stroke play event at Rich Harvest Farms, a par-72 course listed among Rolex World’s Top 1000 Golf Courses.

The 16-team field includes three Big Ten schools along with six teams ranked amongst the top 60, according to golfstat.com. This includes fifth-ranked University of Illinois.

“We’re extremely excited for this 2011-12 campaign,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said. “Our roster is strong from top to bottom. It’s going to be really interesting to see who emerges from that roster.”

Seniors David Erdy and Chase Wright will return this season in third and fourth, respectively, for IU’s lowest career stroke averages. Erdy had three top-five finishes in the 2010-11 season. Wright finished the season with four.

Freshman Andrew Fogg of Greenwood, Ind., will compete as an individual at the Northern Intercollegiate. Fogg was in the top 50 of the American Junior Golf Association Rolex rankings and was a two-time Indiana All-State honoree while playing for Roncalli High School.

The team will continue its season Sept. 16-18 in Chicago at the Olympia Fields for the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.