It came down to two 6-foot par attempts on the 18th green to decide the individual winner of the inaugural Golfweek Conference Challenge Tuesday afternoon.

After Iowa junior Brad Hopfinger and Florida State junior Drew Kittleson birdied hole 17, both players stepped to the 18th tee at Blue Top Ridge in Riverside tied at 203 (9 under) to set up the dramatic finish.

Both golfers missed the fairway to the left, but Hopfinger’s flew farther and into the course’s thick prairie grass to set up a very tough second shot.

Kittleson’s second shot sailed over the green into one of the course’s 88 bunkers, and Hopfinger followed with a great layup shot to stick the ball on the fairway around 50 yards from the pin.

Hopfinger, who was a few inches farther from the cup, putted first. The Deerfield, Ill., native crouched behind the ball, carefully analyzing the relatively flat line to the hole, before stepping up to the ball for a chance to win his first collegiate tournament.

As Hopfinger stood over the ball, the only thing that could be heard was the soft rumbling of bulldozers, working on the course’s new holes, in the distance.

The junior finally pulled his club back and took a step toward the hole as he watched his ball creep closer to its destination. Hopfinger threw up an exuberant fist pump as his ball rolled into the cup to solidify at least a share of the tournament title.

“I chose a good line, and I just said keep your head down and hit it,” Hopfinger said. “As soon as I looked up, I knew it was going in the hole.”

Kittleson, who placed second at the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship and participated in the 2009 Masters, sank his par attempt, ending the tournament with the two individual title winners posting scores of 207 (9 under).

Iowa head coach Mark Hankins said Hopfinger’s win was the result of hard work during the summer and mental toughness.

“I spent a lot of time with Brad [on Tuesday], and I’m proud of him,” Hankins said. “He did a nice job of battling and to get his first college win at home is special.”

The Hawkeyes, as a team, did not share the same success as Hopfinger, though.

After a spectacular round on Monday when none of Iowa’s golfers shot over par, the Hawkeyes teed off on Tuesday with a four-stroke lead over Florida State.

A lack of patience and too much aggressiveness cost the Hawkeyes the tournament lead, and they eventually ended the day in second place behind the Seminoles. Florida State holed several key birdies to win the team title with a 54-hole total of 853 (11 under), while the Hawkeyes went to the scores table with an 861.

Sophomore Barrett Kelpin finished tied for 14th after a 76 on the day for a total of 217. Vince India, who eagled the 13th hole Tuesday, finished the tournament in a 22nd place tie with a total of 219.

Freshman Ryan Marks finished his first collegiate tournament tied for 61st after posting a 230.

Hankins, who said a top-five finish in the 15-team field would be a success before the tournament began, said it was disappointing to lose the lead on the final day. But he is happy with how the team is progressing.

“I don’t think all of our team handled it as well as we could’ve, but we will definitely learn from this,” Hankins said. “This is the first time with these five guys together so they have to learn from each other and grow together.”