Men's golf looks to erase poor performances at Olympia Fields

The No. 25 IU men’s golf team heads to Illinois this weekend for the third time this season.

The team gets set to play in the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club from Sunday to Tuesday in Chicago.

Historically, some of the nation’s best collegiate golf teams have showcased their skills here.

With seven of the top 14 teams in the country in this weekend’s field, this year’s tournament is no different.

“It is a world class field, perhaps one of the best fields if not the best field in college golf for the year,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said. “We will see some unbelievable competition, and it really will be a chance to gauge where we are right now.”

The Hoosiers have struggled at Olympia Fields since their second-place finish in 2008 with back-to-back 13th-place finishes in 2009-10 and a 12th-place finish last year.

With the recent lackluster performances at the Chicago club, the change from playing the North Course to trying to tackle the 7,114-yard par 72 South Course may be the wild card the Hoosiers need to make a good showing.

“The south course is a little tighter and a little shorter (than the north course),” Mayer said. “I am expecting it to play pretty tough. Our iron game has been really strong, particularly our wedge play, and hopefully we can capitalize on that and score some birdies.”

Familiar faces make the start for the Hoosiers as senior Brant Peaper, senior Corey Ziedonis, junior David Mills and junior Hugo Menendez make their fourth starts of the season. All but Menendez have played in this event in the past.

Rounding out the Hoosiers lineup is sophomore Andrew Fogg who will make his first team start this year. Fogg already has three rounds under his belt this year, having played as an individual at the Wolf Run Intercollegite.

“Andrew Fogg played so well at Wolf Run,” Mayer said. “He certainly deserves this shot, and with a combination of things, he has earned his way into the lineup.”

Peaper is the most experienced Hoosier at Olympia Fields, having played the event in each of his three years at IU. His best performance came during his sophomore season when he carded a 223 and finished in a tie for 51st place.

Ziedonis said he’s given into pressure the past two years here at Olympia Fields after posting respectable scores in his first and second rounds.

“The pressure of competition is much greater than what we face most of the year,” Ziedonis said. “It’s basically a national championship field every year, and as hard as the course is, the field exposes any weakness a team may have.”

Mills has started in this event each of his first two years in Bloomington as well, and he’s finished in 36th place in both years.

“We struggled in the past few years competing with these teams,” Mills said. “Like coach Mayer says, ‘Everyone is going to play, and you have to play your best to compete.’”

Ziedonis said they must play like it is any other tournament.

“I think if we go into it this year and act like it is just any other tournament, we should be fine,” Ziedonis said.