Both Iowa golf teams are set to participate in the fifth-annual Hawkeye Alumni Challenge today at Finkbine Golf Course.

“The Alumni Challenge will give former members of the Hawkeye golf team a chance to meet current players, coaches, and administrators,” men’s head coach Mark Hankins said in a release.

“The event will also be a great opportunity to catch up with former teammates and meet alumni from all over the country.”

The format for the event will be a four-alum scrabble. Each alumni group will be paired with a current Iowa golfer or coach. Participants will then play a round with their group and compete for the Alumni Challenge title.

The event will begin with a shotgun start at 2:30 p.m. Following play, an awards social will be held at the University Athletics Club.

“I know all of the alums have a great time coming back to Iowa City,” said women’s head coach Megan Menzel. “It’s so much fun whenever the former players come back.”

After the Alumni Challenge, the men’s team is not scheduled to participate in tournament play until Oct. 13, when they will compete in Duke University’s Rod Myers Invitational, in Durham, N.C.

The Iowa men’s team has participated in two tournaments so far this season. The Hawkeyes finished 10th among 15 teams at the Golden Gopher Invitational in their first tournament.

A week later, they finished fourth among 15 teams at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Burlington. Junior Steven Ihm’s 7-under three-round total led the host Hawkeyes to the fourth place finish.

The Iowa women’s golf team will return to tournament play on Oct. 1, when they are set to participate in the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbus, Mo.

After struggling in their first tournament at the Chip-N-Club Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., the Iowa women put together a much better performance at the Dick McGuire Invitational this week.

“I feel like we played much more consistently than the week before,” Menzel said. “Our goal is to get better every tournament. And we were a lot closer to where we need to be.”

Although the Hawkeyes finished in 13th place at the McGuire Invitational, the team total was 20 strokes lower than the total at the Chip-N-Club Invitational. Menzel praised her team’s individual performances, including Kristi Cardwell’s, who recorded the first hole-in-one for Iowa during Menzel’s tenure as head coach. Menzel pointed to Cardwell’s ball striking as the reason for her success in New Mexico.

“She struck the ball so much better this week than she did in Lincoln,” Menzel said. “That led to increased confidence and helped her get back to her normal self. Once we get all of our players playing well at the same time, we can be really competitive.”