INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NJCAA No. 4-ranked Indian Hills Golf ratcheted up its competition level in taking part in the Butler University Spring Invitational in Indianapolis the past two days.
The good news? The Warriors were clearly up to the task as IHCC topped all of their NCAA brethren in outdistancing the field by topping the second place hosts from Butler by eight strokes.
The bad news?
"I wonder if they won't invite us back now," joked IHCC Head Coach John Mulholland after seeing his team lock up the title against a field that included nearly all four-year NCAA Division I schools at Highland Golf & Country Club.
The feat was highlighted by sophomore Antoine Sale's second individual win this spring's three outings thus far, and the fifth win by Sale in eight total events during the 2020-21 season.
"Antoine got off to a really good start in rounds one and two, which really set us up for the good team scores we carded," Mulholland explained. "He's playing at an all-American level."
Sale was the only golfer in the field to shoot under par for the 56 holes, finishing at one-under. The France native was right at par 70 for the first two rounds on Monday, and followed that up with a one-under 69 on Tuesday. That one stroke improvement came in the form of a clutch putt on Sale's final hole of the tournament which allowed him to defeat runner up Caleb Van Arragon of Valparaiso by a single shot for the championship.
"I told Antoine before the putt that if he made it, it would win him the event," Mulholland said. "And being the finisher that he's become, Antoine stepped up there and drilled a 20-30-foot bomb from downtown. I would have been happy with a two-putt there, but obviously we're thrilled he made that shot for the win."
Freshman Max T. Hartmann was in the running for medalist honors in his own right, finishing two-over par, which earned him a tie for third place overall.
"I was really pleased with Max's play," Mulholland said. "He struggled a little bit with his putter, but he definitely could have won the tournament himself. He's probably our best freshman at this stage. Max is positioning himself to be in line for an all-American plaque at the end of the year, along with Antoine.
The Butler Spring Invitational allowed the Warriors a new experience to go out on the course together as a team to play each hole as a five-some, rather than playing in groups comprised with one IHCC player and members of other schools. Mulholland found it to be a learning experience for his guys.
"Playing with all your teammates was definitely something new," Mulholland said. "They took care of business, but they also learned a lot by how we score, and making sure that you're not dropping shots as a team as a whole. They learned a lot about their games."
At one point with the Warriors holding a sizable margin on the field, the IHCC headman told his troops that it was their tournament to lose, and that the focus should be just playing against themselves to reach their maximum potential. The approach worked as Mulholland's five-some held off the closest competition from Butler and Valparaiso.
"Seeing the team perform like that at such a high level tournament was really pleasing," Mulholland admitted. "It's something they can take a lot of pride in, winning a Division I tournament. Obviously our kids are going to be playing at that level at some stage themselves, but it was a little extra special to see it happen already this week."
In addition to Sale (-1, 209) and Hartmann's (+2, 212) efforts, IHCC saw Thomas Burou finish in the top ten with a 7-over par 217 total, and Cyril Henault came in tied for 12th-place just one stroke behind Burou. Harry Fearn rounded out the Warriors' efforts finishing 15-over and in 29th place.
After a one-year hiatus, Indian Hills will return to the Beu Mussatto Invite, hosted by Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois beginning this Sunday, April 4. It's the 49th annual playing of the Beu Mussatto event and the Warriors won back-to-back titles there in 2018 and 2019.
"I'm looking forward to going to Western Illinois," Mulholland said. "We have an opportunity to win two NCAA Division I tournaments in a row, which is pretty exciting. I think the boys will be ready to go for next week."
TOP 7 TEAM SCORES
Indian Hills 285 284 285 854 +14
Butler 288 293 281 862 +22
Valparaiso 292 287 291 870 +30
Loyola-Chi. 292 292 293 877 +37
Cleveland St. 301 296 297 894 +54
IU-Kokomo 297 307 294 898 +58
Indiana-Wslyn 295 299 305 899 +59
WARRIOR INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1.Antoine Sale 70 70 69 209 -1
3.Max T. Hartmann 71 69 72 212 +2
10.Thomas Burou 72 74 71 217 +7
12.Cyril Henault 72 71 75 218 +8
29.Harry Fearn 76 76 73 225 +15