Indiana University Athletics
Men's Golf Relaxed Heading Into B1G's
4/21/2016 10:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana head coach Mike Mayer has kept his advice to his golfers short and simple heading into this weekend's Big Ten Championships:
Go out and score.
The Hoosiers head to the Big Ten Men's' Golf Championship at Victoria National in Newburgh, Indiana, without anything to lose. IU will need to win the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, so Mayer has given his players the green light to go chasing after low numbers.
"We've just go to out and play loose and free, basically, and just play the best we can," redshirt freshman Jake Brown said. "We know what we have to do to keep going, so we really have no expectations going into it. We've just got to throw down some scores."
Mayer said the Hoosiers have shown flashes of being able to compete with anyone in the Big Ten but haven't been able to put everything together quite yet. He was optimistic in saying there's no reason it couldn't happen this weekend.
"If we get all five players on the same page, who knows?" Mayer said while watching Brown and senior Max Kollin finish up a session on the driving range Wednesday afternoon.
If Indiana is going to make any sort of noise this weekend, it'll almost certainly require someone in the lineup separating themselves. Though Mayer is happy to see consistency in his lineup—just 1.11 strokes per round separate Brown, IU's leading scorer, from No. 5 Kollin—Indiana is still looking for someone to separate themselves as the true No. 1 player heading into the postseason.
Seemingly every player in the lineup, which hasn't changed all spring, has been on the cusp of jumping out front only to fall back the next week. Mayer doesn't care who leads the way this weekend just as long as someone takes a stand.
"It's vital," Mayer said. "I've said it before, the good and bad about this team is you could throw all five guys in a bucket and pull out a No. 1. But you've got to have the guy shouldering the team a bit. Every good team does. Hopefully someone can do that this week."
The course, Victoria National, is one the Hoosiers are well familiar with at this point.
Only a couple of hours away, the Newburgh course was home to the Big Ten Championships last season as well when IU finished 12th. Mayer has also had a few former players share advice on how to play the course, including former Hoosier Chase Wright, who's played the course as a professional.
"Just to hear someone else talk you through the golf course is really helpful," Kollin said. "I think we'll all be comfortable out there."
Whether or not familiarity with the course ends up being an advantage remains to be seen, but Mayer and his players have made it clear they'll head into what could be the final tournament of the season relaxed.
Though Illinois is a favorite to win, they are ranked No. 2 in the country, Mayer said the beauty of Big Ten golf is that it's impossible to know for sure what will happen. With a little bit of luck mixed in with some strong play, the Hoosiers say they could end up in contention come Sunday afternoon if they stay on the attack.
"We can't play defense on this course against these teams," Kollin said. "Obviously Illinois is really good, and there's a lot of other teams in the Big Ten like that, too. We've got to score, go in there and let it fly."
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana head coach Mike Mayer has kept his advice to his golfers short and simple heading into this weekend's Big Ten Championships:
Go out and score.
The Hoosiers head to the Big Ten Men's' Golf Championship at Victoria National in Newburgh, Indiana, without anything to lose. IU will need to win the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, so Mayer has given his players the green light to go chasing after low numbers.
"We've just go to out and play loose and free, basically, and just play the best we can," redshirt freshman Jake Brown said. "We know what we have to do to keep going, so we really have no expectations going into it. We've just got to throw down some scores."
Mayer said the Hoosiers have shown flashes of being able to compete with anyone in the Big Ten but haven't been able to put everything together quite yet. He was optimistic in saying there's no reason it couldn't happen this weekend.
"If we get all five players on the same page, who knows?" Mayer said while watching Brown and senior Max Kollin finish up a session on the driving range Wednesday afternoon.
If Indiana is going to make any sort of noise this weekend, it'll almost certainly require someone in the lineup separating themselves. Though Mayer is happy to see consistency in his lineup—just 1.11 strokes per round separate Brown, IU's leading scorer, from No. 5 Kollin—Indiana is still looking for someone to separate themselves as the true No. 1 player heading into the postseason.
Seemingly every player in the lineup, which hasn't changed all spring, has been on the cusp of jumping out front only to fall back the next week. Mayer doesn't care who leads the way this weekend just as long as someone takes a stand.
"It's vital," Mayer said. "I've said it before, the good and bad about this team is you could throw all five guys in a bucket and pull out a No. 1. But you've got to have the guy shouldering the team a bit. Every good team does. Hopefully someone can do that this week."
The course, Victoria National, is one the Hoosiers are well familiar with at this point.
Only a couple of hours away, the Newburgh course was home to the Big Ten Championships last season as well when IU finished 12th. Mayer has also had a few former players share advice on how to play the course, including former Hoosier Chase Wright, who's played the course as a professional.
"Just to hear someone else talk you through the golf course is really helpful," Kollin said. "I think we'll all be comfortable out there."
Whether or not familiarity with the course ends up being an advantage remains to be seen, but Mayer and his players have made it clear they'll head into what could be the final tournament of the season relaxed.
Though Illinois is a favorite to win, they are ranked No. 2 in the country, Mayer said the beauty of Big Ten golf is that it's impossible to know for sure what will happen. With a little bit of luck mixed in with some strong play, the Hoosiers say they could end up in contention come Sunday afternoon if they stay on the attack.
"We can't play defense on this course against these teams," Kollin said. "Obviously Illinois is really good, and there's a lot of other teams in the Big Ten like that, too. We've got to score, go in there and let it fly."
Players Mentioned
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