As the Master Tournament filled the airwaves across the country, Indiana men’s golf took the course Saturday and Sunday at the Robert Kepler Invitational at Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
But on the par-72, 7,077-yard course, the Hoosiers faltered in the second round with a 5-over-par total score. The result launched Indiana down the standings, and a 2-over-par final round ended the Hoosiers’ tournament in 13th with a 7-over-par total score.
Indiana was one of six teams to finish over par, as Minnesota took home the title with a 31-under-par team total. The Golden Gophers used a 10-under-par second round to defeat Ohio State by nine strokes.
Big Ten foes Michigan State and Michigan also outpaced the Hoosiers during the three-round tournament. The Spartans rebounded from a 5-over-par first round to finish 2-under-par, while the Wolverines were 6-over-par on Sunday to also total a 2-under-par and finish tied for eighth with Kent State University.
Coming into the tournament, Indiana ranked No. 95 on the clippd rankings, far below Ohio State (66), Michigan State (69), Michigan (82) and Minnesota (84). However, Indiana could not overcome the tough competition to win the event for the sixth time in history, with its most recent win coming in 2024.
Junior Cole Starnes carded the lowest total score for Indiana, finishing the tournament 3-under-par and tied for 19th with five other golfers. Starnes started the invitational with a 4-under-par first round, tying him for second. However, he counteracted the first-round performance with a 4-over-par second round total before going 3-under-par on Sunday.
The performance from Starnes was not enough to catch Minnesota sophomore Jack Crousore and Abilene Christian University senior Grégoire Hoyeau, who finished tied for first with a 9-under-par final score.
Indiana sophomore Bradley Chill Jr. carded the second-best total score throughout the three rounds, finishing even par. The score produced a tied-for-32nd result for Chill Jr., being tied with five other golfers. Chill Jr. started the tournament 1-over-par before responding with a 1-under-par result in the second round and finishing the weekend scoring an even par result in the third round.
Indiana’s next best score came from junior Nick Piesen at 2-over-par. Piesen finished the first and third rounds even par, but a 2-over-par second round helped the Strongsville, Ohio, native finish tied for 44th.
Junior Alec Cesare rounded out Indiana’s golfers with a 15-over-par final score. Cesare could not find his rhythm throughout most of the weekend, finishing the tournament 80th out of 84 golfers.
Redshirt-senior Clay Merchent started the tournament 3-over-par and even par in the first two rounds, but he withdrew before the third round Sunday.
Indiana started the tournament with an even par total score in the first round, placing them seventh in the standings. Starnes led the way with a 4-under-par result after recording five birdies and one bogey.
Piesen recorded two birdies and two bogeys on his first round scorecard to finish even par. Chill Jr. totaled a 1-over-par score, rebounding after a bogey on the first hole, while Merchent was 3-over-par. Cesare started his opening round with four bogeys during the first seven holes, finishing the day with three birdies and seven total bogeys for a 4-over-par performance that did not count for Indiana’s team score.
In the second round, Chill Jr. posted the lowest score for Indiana after going 1-under-par. Chill Jr. started his Saturday afternoon effort with a birdie, totaling three of them and two bogeys.
Merchent recorded an even par performance, recording three bogeys and three birdies. Piesen started his second round with a double bogey on the first hole, but rebounded throughout the afternoon to finish 2-over-par.
Starnes recorded four bogeys on the front nine and two consecutive bogeys on No. 16 and 17, while only producing two birdies to finish with a 4-over-par 76 in the second round. Cesare had six bogeys and a double bogey on the 18th hole to finish the round 6-over-par and not count toward the Hoosiers’ team score.
On Sunday, Starnes rebounded with a 3-under-par total score. After starting on the 10th hole, he recorded four birdies, plus a bogey on the fifth hole to finish the day with a 69 total score.
Chill Jr. and Piesen each recorded even par 72’s in the third round. Piesen started his round with three bogeys on the back nine but rattled off three consecutive birdies between the second and fourth holes.
Chill Jr. started Sunday with eight consecutive pars before recording his first birdie on No. 18 and another birdie plus two bogeys on the front nine. Cesare carded six bogeys and one birdie on the 12th hole to finish the third round 5-over-par.
Indiana will conclude its regular season at the Hoosier Collegiate from April 18-19 in Bloomington. The Hoosiers could not play the tournament last season after excessive rain made the Pfau Course unplayable, although they won the tournament during the 2024 spring season.
