When people think of excelling golf regions, they usually dream of a Florida or California town with year-round high temperatures and sunny skies. Junior golf is growing exponentially and many new hubs are springing up around the country. Surprisingly enough, Indianapolis’s golf impact is making a great effect on the collegiate level as well. With four Indiana teams and several individuals making the big dance, the “Hoosier Hysteria” is spilling onto the golf course.
The 2023 class was a stellar group to watch as the high school season prevailed. Guerin Catholic went back-to-back, which was led by the duo Leo Wessel (University of Cincinnati) and Jacob Modleski (University of Notre Dame). With the transition from high school to college, Jacob knew he needed to step up his game and did just that. With his dominant work ethic, he made the varsity lineup as a freshman. Along with this, Jacob’s effort propelled Notre Dame to two victories in key events in the collegiate season, including a sixteenth-place finish in his first collegiate start in the Folds of Honor Invitational to help the Irish win. As 2024 started, his work paid off, winning the Jones Cup to secure a spot in a PGA Tour event. Two months later, Jacob would take another win at the Johnnie-O Invitational which also resulted in a team win for the Irish. The cherry on top for “Jmods” was his run at the ACC Championship where he led the Irish and finished eleventh overall individually. This finish secured a spot for Notre Dame in the tournament. Jacob commented, “We’re feeling great about our regional. We aren’t changing anything we normally do, simply sticking to our processes on and off the golf course as a team.” This Notre Dame team competes in the Austin Regional as a 6-Seed at the University of Texas Golf Club.
Going back to the 2023 IHSAA State Finals, the team that came up one shot short, Westfield High School, had to let go of a star as well, Alec Ceasare. The oldest of three brothers, Alec committed to play at Ball State University where he also made the varsity lineup his freshman year. This Ball State squad is a special one, with multiple Hoosiers representing many local schools in the area. Leading off with their number one, Kash Bellar, who played for Peru High School and brought home an individual state title in 2021. Kash climbed the ranks in his underclassman years and now leads the Cardinals to battle. He is not the lone 765 player, however, with former Tipton golfer, Griffin Hare, joining him on the lineup. Along with these three, Carter Smith (Silver Creek High School), Colin Nasser (Zionsville High School), and Drew Todd (Bloomington High School) rounded out the lineup for BSU. This squad picked up wins at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational and the MAC/A-10 Match Play Challenge but knew they needed a conference victory to win a bid to the tournament. With the host course, Chatham Hills Country Club, being in Alec Ceasare’s hometown, the tournament was a homecoming for the former Shamrock. They did not let the pressure get to them, however, winning the conference by five strokes with three golfers in the top eight individually. Thanks to the win, the Cardinals received a 12-seed spot in the Chapel Hill Regional.
Taking a trip across Hamilton County, we reach Fishers, Indiana, where Senior Cole Starnes, who committed to Indiana University, led Hamilton Southeastern to a third-place finish at the 2023 State Finals. With Cole’s arrival to Bloomington, he learned the ropes of collegiate golf quickly with a third-place finish at the Windon Memorial Classic in Chicago. IU took a couple of months to click but bounced back in the spring to win back-to-back tournaments at the Hoosier Collegiate and the Rodger Kepler Invitational. These wins were just good enough to earn them an 8-seed bid at the West Lafayette Regional at Purdue University. The last Indiana team to earn a spot in the tournament, Purdue University, pulled a lucky bid with them being picked into the West Lafayette regional with IU, which they host. Their wins at the Marquette Intercollegiate, Windon Memorial, and the Purdue Fall Classic propelled them to go into this regional as a 5-seed.
The teams were not the only thing successful in Indiana golf this year, with two Hoosier-tied players making the tournament as individuals. Valparaiso University golfer, Caleb Vanarragon, was chosen to make the trip to West Lafayette Regional as the top-seeded individual for the region. His runner-up finish at the MVC Conference Championship and 66th player ranking helped influence this decision, which makes him the third-straight golfer to make the tournament for Valpo. Lastly, Kokomo native, Ty Gingerich, had his first career win for the Cincinnati Bearcats at just the right time. With his win at the BIG-12 Championship, which is highly regarded as the best conference in golf, he would receive an automatic bid to the West Lafayette Regional along with Caleb.
With the growing popularity of golf in Indiana, the competition in junior golf is growing at a rapid rate. The growing amount of talent is further cementing Indiana as the golf superpower which could challenge states like Florida and Texas. Overall, golf’s community is at an all-time high and many are excited for the true future of “The Old Man’s Game”.
