WEST DES MOINES — The Indian Hills men’s golf team started fast and never looked back on the way to winning their first tournament of the season.
The second tournament of the season, however, was a much different story. The fourth-ranked Warriors were contending with a much tougher field of opponents on a much tougher course.
After posting the lowest score for a tournament in the three seasons under national championship-winning head coach Michael Wetrich earlier this month, Indian Hills struggled to find its same footing this week at the Zach Johnson Invitational. Competing in a tournament filled with four-year programs, the Warriors finished 14th overall with a final three-round total of 893, posting a score 61 strokes higher than their winning 32-under-par total of 832 that allowed Indian Hills to claim the Blue River Classic in Nebraska back on Sept. 5.
“It was a good learning experience,” Wetrich said. “There are a lot of things to learn from. Where to save shots around the greens. Handling your speed on the greens. Making sure you put the ball in play somewhere that you can get it up and down.
“It was a good learning experience for the guys. It gives us something to go back and work on to finish out the fall season on a strong note.”
The Warriors not only took on the challenge of facing several NCAA program, but also took on the challenge of the Glen Oaks Country Club. The home course of the PGA Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic led to challenging scores of 298 and 293 on Monday for Indian Hills before a final round of 302 on Tuesday prevented the Warriors from overtaking Northern Iowa, North Dakota, Western Illinois and Murray State in their pursuit of a top-10 finish.
“We knew the field was going to be a lot stronger and the course was going to be much more difficult,” Wetrich said. “We knew coming in this was going to be more of a challenge. It’s a good experience to play in a tournament at this level and for the guys to experience playing on a course of this caliber.”
Former Washington standout Roman Roth would finish the tournament leading the Warriors in his collegiate debut. Roth opened on Monday with matching rounds of one-under-par 70, entering the final round on Tuesday in position to post a top-five finish.
The final round, however, was just as challenging for Roth as it was for his IHCC teammates. After opening with five straight pars, Roth bogeyed five of the final 13 holes and double-bogeyed both the eighth and 14th holes finishing in an overall tie for 27th with a six-over-par three-round total of 219.
“I was hitting the ball extremely well on Monday. I couldn’t have asked for more ideal day,” Roth said. “I just couldn’t putt the ball very well (on Tuesday). It was a great learning experience. There are some great players out here. It’s all going to make me better for the next time.”
Emilio Arellano Lamas, who shared medalist honors with Indian Hills teammate Facundo Moraga at the season-opening Blue River Classic, finished two strokes behind Roth at the Zach Johnson Invite posting a three-round total of 221. Lamas is the lone returning sophomore for the Warriors, helping IHCC return to compete in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament last spring.
“I feel good being the sophomore leader this season. I feel like I can be a big help to my teammates,” Lamas said. “I played the entire final round with Roman. He’s a good guy and a good teammate. I just try to keep all the guys encouraged. It’s a long season. You just need to stay positive, stay calm in any situation and make sure to fix your mistakes. I still feel like this team has what it takes to make it back to nationals this spring.”
Indian Hills will be back on the course at the Tommie Invitational in Minnesota on Sept. 30.
