JUCO golf: IHCC sets sights on another national title

Apr. 5—OTTUMWA — Who knows what could have happened on Tuesday if Mother Nature hadn't intervened.

The Indian Hills men's golf team entered the final round of the Don Benbow Butler Spring Invitational just one stroke behind Purdue-Fort Wayne and Butler for the team championship. The only two-year school in the tournament had a real chance to take down a field filled with NCAA four-year programs.

Unfortunately for the reigning NJCAA national champions, rainy weather moved in to Indiana before the Warriors could get back on the course for the final 18 holes at the Highland Country Club. Indian Hills had to settle for third place, finishing under par as a team for the first time this season with a two-round one-under par 559.

As was the case last year, the Warriors are looking to hit their peak at the perfect time. Heading into this weekend's Western Illinois Intercollegiate, played on the same TPC Deere Run course in the Quad Cities that annually hosts the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, Indian Hills is seeking its first win since claiming the NJCAA National Tournament title last May.

If the Warriors can prevail in another tournament stacked with four-year programs, it would put IHCC right back on the same pace that led to the Warriors claiming the program's seventh national championship. Indian Hills followed up a third-place finish at last year's Butler Invitational by winning three of their final four tournaments, a run that head coach Micheal Wetrich wouldn't mind seeing this year's IHCC squad duplicate this spring.

"The guys know what it takes. They know what to expect," Wetrich said. "It's just a matter of building experience for the freshmen and peaking at the right time. I don't know if it ever makes it easier to win a national championship even if you've done it before.

"Every year is different. You always have new players and new personalities. The only thing we can control is putting ourselves in competitive situations and environments. There's nothing like competitive golf and having success in big events. If we can continue to do that, by the time we get to May, it'll be familiar to us."

Indian Hills showed remarkable consistency during the first two rounds of the Butler Invitational on Monday as an opening round of 280 featured identical rounds of even-par 70 from Josh Ramirez, Gaspar Glaudas, Jose Carletta and Shinju Aoki. Glaudas led IHCC in the second round with a three-under-par round of 67, finishing in a tie for fifth place overall with a 137 total rolling in four of the 16 birdies posted in the second round and four of the team's 33 total birdies posted during the two rounds on Monday.

"You always want to win any tournament you're end, but you can't complain with a top-five finish," Glaudas said. "I started slow during my first round, but I started making putts late in the round and started making a push. I gave myself a lot of looks at birdies. Making putts is what always makes the difference. I feel like even more putts are going to fall as we go along this spring."

Indian Hills vaulted back into the No. 1 ranking in junior college golf after opening the spring finishing second in the Lindenwood Invitational last month. Indian Hills posted a two-over-par three-round total of 854, rolling in 47 birdies over three rounds in their first competition since the NJCAA National Preview Tournament back in October.

"There's a lot of positives that we've taken away from the start of the season. We had to overcome some mental fatigue in our first spring tournament, playing 36 holes on that first day out," Wetrich said. "Our short game has been good. Our guys have made a lot of birdies early in the season. When you have the ability to make birdies and eagles, it can allow you to really put up some low scores if you can clean up the bogeys and double bogeys."

Glaudas, the nation's top-ranked junior college golfer, has broken 70 in nine of his 19 rounds this year for the Warriors. Jose Miguel Ramirez, last year's NJCAA national individual champion, posted rounds of 70 and 71 on Monday at the Butler Invitational finishing in a tie for 22nd just two shots behind freshman teammate Jose Carletta who followed his opening round of 70 with a one-under par 69 to finish in a tie for ninth.

"It always helps when you're part of the defending national champions, but we really haven't proven anything yet this season," Glaudas said. "We need to start winning to get ready for nationals. They're coming next month. We've got time, but we need to start winning tournaments and building confidence.

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.