IU men’s golf finished in ninth place at the Spartan Collegiate at Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia. The event concluded Tuesday after two days of competition.
“I felt like throughout the tournament we were a little bit bland, a little bit mediocre, really never got much going,” head coach Mike Mayer said after the competition. “We had some opportunities, but then we made some mistakes.”
The competition consisted of three rounds — two on Monday before a final round on Tuesday. Each day began with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start, although a frost delay pushed back the start time Tuesday.
IU finished the first round on Monday shooting 2-over-par as a team, being led by junior Harry Reynolds and senior Ethan Shepherd, who both shot even par.
The second round also ended with the team shooting 2-over-par, though this time it was led by Shepherd and freshman Clay Merchent. Shepherd and Merchent shot well on the back nine, shooting 4-under-par and 3-under-par respectively.
“None of us played our best yesterday during the first or second round,” Merchent said. “But we all were hanging in there and knew that, you know, it wouldn’t take too much for us to turn things around quickly.”
The Hoosiers had their best outing of the competition during round 3 on Tuesday, shooting 3-under par. Reynolds and Merchent led the team during this round with 1-under-par and 3-under-par, respectively.
Merchent led the team individually, ending the competition tied for ninth place overall for his second consecutive top-ten finish. The freshman also earned the first eagle of his career on the eighth hole in the third round.
“I think I just got a little more comfortable with the golf course and how to play it,” Merchent said.
IU returns to play from March 14-15 at the General Hackler Championship at Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“I got a lot of confidence in all five of these guys in the lineup, and I think we can go to Hackler and contend for a title,” Mayer said.
