Following a 100-day break from competitive team play, Indiana men’s golf is set to start its spring season in sparkling sunshine with the Big Ten Match Play Championship in Hammock Beach, Florida.
Indiana, the reigning champion in the event, will compete against 10 other Big Ten schools Friday and Saturday. The Hoosiers are the fourth seed in this year’s tournament, and are ranked No. 33 overall in the latest Golfweek rankings.
“[Match play] is a whole different ball game,” head coach Mike Mayer said. “Anybody can beat anybody.”
It’s worth noting the Hoosiers was the No. 10 seed in last year’s event, beating four teams that were ranked higher than them.
Indiana received a bye in the first round and will play the fifth seed, Penn State University, Friday afternoon with a 1 p.m. EST start time. Beforehand, Indiana will play an early-morning exhibition match against No. 2 seed Northwestern University.
“We match up really well against Penn State,” Mayer stated. “We have a really, really strong lineup.”
Indiana’s lineup heading into the event is identical to the one in the 2021 tournament, and is similar to those from the fall. Sophomore Drew Salyers will play the No. 1 position, followed by senior Mitch Davis, junior Noah Gillard, fifth-year senior Ethan Shepherd and sophomore Clay Merchent.
Mayer said he knows it’s going to take a team effort if they want to repeat as winners of this event, but he is confident they have the depth. Mayer pointed out senior Harry Reynold, who will act as a sub this weekend, won all four matches last year for the Hoosiers.
Mayer also said he loves the fact that all six of these golfers have experience playing in Hammock Beach since they competed in last year’s event.
“We know the course extremely well,” Mayer said. “It tends to be windy, but we handle that adversity very well.”
If Indiana advances, the team would play either the top seed in Purdue University or the No. 8 seed, Rutgers University. The semifinals and finals will both be played Sunday at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Mayer said he doesn’t like to look ahead, but he does like the fact that Indiana beat Purdue twice in the fall at the Fighting Illini Invitational and the Purdue Fall Invitational.
Regardless of the results, Indiana is guaranteed to play four events in total—two on Friday and two on Saturday—with the hopes of returning to the top. Although the tournament will not be broadcasted, live scoring is available via GolfStat.
