Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Head South For Big Ten Championship
4/23/2015 2:04:00 PM | Men's Golf
THIS WEEK
April 24-26, 2015 -- Big Ten Championship
Golf Course: Victoria National Golf Club
Location: Newburgh, Ind.
Par/Yardage: Par 72 • 7,124 yards
Live Scoring: GolfStat
Indiana Season Stats: 2014-15 Season
INDIANA PARTICIPANTS (Year | 2014-15 scoring avg.)
Nicholas Grubnich | Senior | 75.41
Max Kollin | Junior | 75.91
Brendon Doyle | Freshman | 76.00
Keegan Vea | Sophomore | 74.62
Will Seger | Sophomore | 77.81
THE FIELD (by GolfStat ranking):
1 Illinois (4)
2 Iowa (45)
3 Michigan (50)
4 Ohio State (54)
5 Purdue (59)
6 Northwestern (72)
7 Penn State (76)
8 Maryland (77)
9 Michigan State (89)
10 Minnesota (100)
11 Wisconin (129)
12 Indiana (164)
13 Nebraska (173)
14 Rutgers (206)
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The teams will play 36 holes on Friday followed by 18 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday.
LAST TIME AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Last year, Indiana finished eighth at the Big Ten Championship at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick. The Hoosiers posted team scores of 301, 305, 313 and 296 over the four rounds for a total score of 1215.
Here's a look at the individual results by the five IU players from last year:
T7) Nicholas Grubnich - 299 (76-79-74-70, +11)
T31) David Mills - 306 (77-72-83-74, +18)
T31) Hugo Menendez - 306 (74-80-76-76, +18)
T41) Max Kollin - 308 (75-76-81-76, +20)
T53) Will Seger - 317 (76-78-81-81, +29)
HISTORY AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Looking back at the Big Ten Championship, the Hoosiers have had a number of stellar performances. Here's a look at some of the notables:
Team Championships (8): 1962, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1991, 1998
Individual Medalists (8):
Byron Comstock (1964) - 290
Don Padgett (1969) - 290
Bob Ackerman/Gary Biddinger (1975) - 294
Mike Ingram (1984) - 286
Shaun Micheel (1991) - 276
Jeff Overton (2005) - 199 (54 holes)
Jorge Campillo (2008) - 278
Lowest 36-hole Score: Jeff Overton - 130 (65-65, Tied Big Ten Record)
Lowest 54-hole Score: Jeff Overton - 199 (65-65-69, Tied Big Ten Record)
Lowest Winning Individual Score: Shaun Micheel - 276 (71-68-70-67, T3rd in Big Ten Record Book)
LAST WEEK
The Hoosiers finished fifth at the Boilermaker Intercollegiate last weekend, arguably the best tournament performance of the year for Indiana. The team score of 876 (288-293-295) was the second-best of the year and was the second straight tournament with all three rounds below 300.
Senior Nicholas Grubnich and junior Max Kollin both finished tied for 12th individually, posting scores of 217 (+1) over the three rounds. Keegan Vea checked in with a T26 finish at 4-over par while Brendon Doyle (T36) and Matthew Weber (T72) rounded out the solid all-around team performance.
BREAKING 70
Freshman Matthew Weber finished the second round of the NYX Hoosier Invitational with a 2-under par score of 69. He was the first IU player to break 70 since Christian Fairbanks did it in his first round of the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational on October 19.
Overall, Indiana has had just three rounds in the 60s this season, with Nicholas Grubnich finishing the first event of the year - the Northern Intercollegiate - with a round of 69 on his way to T4 finish.
KEEPING THE LINEUP "FRESH"
In seven of the 10 tournaments so far this season, head coach Mike Mayer has had two freshmen in the lineup. The only times he has had fewer than two was at the Talis Park Challenge, the Blue Devil Spring Shootout and this week at the Big Ten Championship.
Northern Intercollegiate: Brendon Doyle, Christian Fairbanks
Olympia Fields: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber
Wolf Run: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber
Sagamore: Matthew Weber, Christian Fairbanks, Brendon Doyle (Individual)
Tavistock: Matthew Weber, Christian Fairbanks
Big Ten Match Play: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber
Talis Park Challenge: Brendon Doyle
Blue Devil Shootout: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber, Christian Fairbanks
Mason Rudolph: Brendon Doyle
NYX Hoosier Invitational: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber, Christian Fairbanks (individual)
Boilermaker Intercollegiate: Brendon Doyle, Matthew Weber
Big Ten Championship: Brendon Doyle
TOP 30 FINISHES
Each of the 10 student-athletes that have teed it up for the Hoosiers this season have posted at least one Top 30 individual finish. Nicholas Grubnich came in with a fourth place finish int he Northern Intercollegiate to open the 2014-15 season, and it still stands as the top performance by an IU golfer this season.
MATCH PLAY SUPERLATIVE
Sophomore Keegan Vea paced the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Match Play Championships, posting a 2-1 record. He was not in the lineup for the opening match against Northwestern, but quickly cemented his spot in the lineup for the remainder of the event after a 2-up win against Penn State. He also registered a 1-up victory in the final match of the weekend against Nebraska.
BEST TEAM SCORE OF THE SEASON
Just last week, the Hoosiers recorded a team score of 867, which was good for third place at the NYX Hoosier Invitational. The total was 15 shots better than their previous 54-hole team score of 882 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in October.
FAIRBANKS FINISHES T12
Indiana freshman Christian Fairbanks used a second round score of 72 (E) to vault up the leaderboard at the Sagamore Preview in Noblesville, Ind. He finished T12 in the tournament, the best finish of his career and the best finish by an IU freshman since Will Seger's T4 finish at the NYX Hoosier Invitational last year.
GIVE IT UP FOR GRUB
Senior Nicholas Grubnich has started his final collegiate campaign with a couple of strong showings in very good fields. He opened the season with a T4 finish at the Northern Intercollegiate played at Rich Harvest Farms. He opened with a round of 77, but rallied to post scores of 72 and 69 and surge up the leaderboard. So far this season, Grubnich has posted rounds of 75 or better 10 times, including all three rounds at the Talis Park Challenge.
Over the summer, Grubnich claimed the Indiana state amateur title and earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur at the Atlanta Athletic Club. All of that comes on the heels of his T7 finish at the Big Ten Championship last spring.
