As rain and wind blanketed The Pfau Course in Bloomington on Saturday and Sunday, Indiana men’s golf battled through the treacherous conditions to finish the Hoosier Collegiate 55-over-par.
The team score awarded the Hoosiers a 12th-place finish at its home tournament. The Pfau Course’s setup of a par-71, 7,355-yard layout punished all 15 teams during the two-day, three-round tournament.
The University of Kansas finished the event in first with a final tally of 20-over-par. The Jayhawks barely defeated Illinois, after the Illini compiled a 23-over-par final score. Illinois — which ranked No. 13 in clippd’s recent rankings — came in first out of the 10 Big Ten schools represented in the tournament.
The Hoosiers’ 55-over-par total defeated Big Ten foe Wisconsin’s 57-over-par team score, but Indiana fell behind the eight other conference opponents on the scoreboard. Indiana also beat Northern Illinois University and Ball State University after the two teams shot 70-over-par and 81-over-par, respectively.
“I still feel we're not quite performing up to our potential,” Indiana head coach Mike Mayer said after the tournament. “It was a tough, tough couple days out here at The Pfau, and the conditions were pretty difficult for every team here, so we knew that was going to happen.”
Indiana started the opening round Saturday, battling through rain to finish the round 25-over-par. During the second round, the Hoosiers took advantage of the slower conditions to finish Saturday afternoon 10-over-par. However, wind contributed to a 20-over-par team score Sunday.
Indiana was led by two tied for 30th-place finishes, as junior Nick Piesen and freshman Caleb Schnarr compiled 13-over-par marks. Piesen fired off two 5-over-par performances in the first and third rounds, plus a 3-over-par second round. Schnarr finished the tournament with 6-over-par scores in the first and third rounds, separated by a 1-over-par second round.
“Overall, (Piesen) had pretty solid ball striking,” Mayer said. “If he was lacking anything, it was a short game. So, we’ve got to get better there.”
Indiana’s scores weren’t enough to break into the top 10 after six players were tied at sixth place with 4-over-par total scores. Illinois sophomore Freddie Turnell was the only player who finished under par, winning the tournament with a 1-under-par final score.
Sophomore Bradley Chill Jr. had Indiana’s third-best total score during the tournament with a 14-over-par total score to finish tied for 37th. Junior Cole Starnes compiled a 15-over-par mark to finish tied 42nd. Junior Neri Checcucci accumulated a 32-over-par total score, giving him an 85th place finish out of 88 golfers who competed in the tournament.
Junior Alec Cesare and redshirt-senior Ethan Chelf competed as individuals during the tournament, meaning the pair did not count towards Indiana’s team score. Chelf finished the event with a 15-over-par score to place tied for 42nd, while Cesare carded a 17-over-par mark to finish tied for 55th.
Piesen and Chill Jr. started the tournament with Indiana’s best results after 5-over-par performances in the first round. The pair was followed by Schnarr and Chelf recording 6-over-par marks. Starnes and Cesare were behind with 9-over-par scorecards, and Checcucci rounded out the performances with an 11-over-par total.
Like most teams in the second round, the Hoosiers were able to attack the course and post lower scores than in the first round. Indiana finished the second round 10-over-par — compared to 25-over-par in the first — while Illinois was the only team to record a under par result during the tournament after going 2-under-par.
Schnarr and Starnes led the way for the Hoosiers after posting 1-over-par scores in the second round. Schnarr recorded three birdies throughout his round, but a double bogey on the 13th hole hurt his chances of not ending over par.
Piesen and Chelf were Indiana’s next best performers with 3-over-par totals, while Cesare was 4-over-par. Chill Jr. recorded the same score of 5 over par as his first-round performance. However, Checcucci still could not find his rhythm on the course after recording three double bogeys Saturday afternoon and a 12-over-par total score.
On Sunday, wind played a major role in hurting Indiana’s chances of producing low scores around The Pfau Course. Chill Jr. and Cesare posed the Hoosiers’ best chance of delivering under par rounds, but the pair encountered difficulties on the back nine to both end the final round 4 over par.
Piesen and Starnes followed behind with 5-over-par totals, while Schnarr and Chelf were 6 over par Sunday. Checcucci recorded a double bogey on his first hole of the round, finishing the final round 9 over par to close the tournament.
After ending the spring season with one top 10 finish, Indiana will start postseason play at the Big Ten Championships from May 1-3. The event will be held at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon.
“Maybe what we're lacking is that guy. We need somebody to kind of lead us a little bit,” Mayer said. “We're still trying to figure out our lineup, and it's a little late in the season for that, but we got some work to do before the Big Ten’s.”
