After a tied-for-eighth finish at the Gators Invitational to open the 2026 spring season, Indiana men’s golf looked to carry the momentum into the rest of its schedule. However, the Hoosiers found trouble in the subsequent four team tournaments, not finishing inside the top 10 in any.
It was a trend that continued for Indiana at the Big Ten Championships.
The Hoosiers faltered throughout the three-round tournament from Friday to Sunday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon. The par-70, 7,079-yard course pushed the Hoosiers to a 38-over-par team total. Indiana’s competition punished the Hoosiers’ poor scores, as they finished tied for 16th with Wisconsin in the 18-team conference.
An 11-under-par second round helped UCLA finish victorious after compiling an 8-under-par total score. The Bruins defeated Illinois — which ranked No. 12 in the country on the most recent clipped rankings — after the Fighting Illini carded a 4-under-par team score.
UCLA and Illinois were the only two teams to finish under par during the tournament. Indiana bested Ohio State by seven strokes, as the Buckeyes finished with a 45-over-par team total. However, the Hoosiers could not climb the leaderboard after Iowa amassed a 36-over-par final score.
Junior Cole Starnes led Indiana with an 8-over-par performance. He finished tied for 47th, however; Starnes entered Sunday tied for 19th after carding two consecutive 1-over-par rounds. The Fishers, Indiana, native then rattled off a 6-over-par third round score to hurt his chances of a top 20 finish.
The Hoosiers’ next best finisher was junior Nick Piesen, who finished the tournament at 10 over par. Piesen was 9 over par after the first two rounds but finished Sunday with a 1-over-par 71, putting him in a tie for 55th.
Junior Alec Cesare fell just behind Piesen with an 11-over-par final score and in a tie for 58th. Cesare sandwiched a 6-over-par second round with a 2-over-par first round and a 3-over-par third round.
Sophomore Bradley Chill Jr. was two strokes behind Cesare with a 13-over-par total score to finish tied for 69th, while freshman Caleb Schnarr was 14 over par and in a tie for 72nd.
In total, 12 golfers finished under par, with UCLA freshman Josh Kim being victorious. He carded an 8-under-par final score to finish three strokes in front of Washington junior Finn Koelle. Behind them, four players — two each from Illinois and USC — tied for third with a 3-under-par total.
During the opening round of the tournament Friday, Indiana recorded a 14-over-par team total. Starnes led the way with a 1-under-par scorecard after recording three bogeys on the front nine but firing off two birdies on the back nine.
Cesare also found trouble during the first nine holes, recording three bogeys and a double bogey. However, he finished the back nine with three birdies to end the day 2 over par.
Piesen fired off a 5-over-par first round score, while a triple bogey and a double bogey doomed Chill Jr. to a 6-over-par total. Schnarr entered the final hole two strokes over par, but he recorded a nine on the par-5 18th hole to finish the day 6 over par.
With Saturday providing calmer conditions, many teams took advantage of the easier golf course. Three teams — UCLA, Purdue and USC — recorded under-par rounds. However, Indiana ended the round tied with Ohio State and Wisconsin for 13-over-par total scores, the worst marks Saturday.
Starnes fired off another 1-over-par round, compiling three birdies and four bogeys during the 18 holes. Piesen, Chill Jr. and Schnarr all recorded 4-over-par second rounds. Piesen counteracted two birdies with three bogeys and a triple bogey on the par-5 seventh hole. Chill Jr. carded two double bogeys throughout his round, while Schnarr had one. Cesare finished Saturday 6-over-par after marking a bogey, double bogey and triple bogey on his scorecard.
On Sunday, Indiana bested Maryland’s 13-over-par score, plus Ohio State and Iowa’s 15-over-par totals with an 11-over-par team score. Piesen recorded the Hoosiers lowest round with a 1-over-par scorecard. The Strongsville, Ohio, native carded two birdies and three bogeys.
Cesare and Chill Jr. were close behind with 3-over-par final round scores. Cesare was 1-under-par on the front nine, but two bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine hurt his round. Chill Jr. recorded three birdies, plus four bogeys and a double bogey throughout his round.
Schnarr ended the tournament with a 4-over-par final score after recording a quadruple bogey on the par-3 12th hole. Starnes carded a 6-over-par final round, marked by five bogeys on the front nine.
After not making the NCAA Regionals last season as a team, Indiana will wait to learn its fate Wednesday. The six regional tournaments feature 81 teams and 45 individuals. In the most recent clipped rankings released April 30, the Hoosiers rank 99th, and Piesen is the highest-ranked golfer at 390th in the country.
