The Iowa men’s golf team traveled to the Big Ten Championships this weekend, and the return trip from Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana might even be a little better than they expected.

The Hawkeyes were the second seed at the conference tournament behind the fourth-ranked University of Illinois, and the leaderboard finished thusly. The surprise of the tournament, however, was sophomore Carson Schaake claiming the individual title.

Schaake shot a career-best 65 (-7) in the first round on Friday to put him in a threatening position from the outset, setting up an epic battle for the title with Nick Hardy of Illinois.

The freshman Hardy had a strong performance on Saturday to lead the field by two strokes and Schaake by three. Schaake finished the tournament on Sunday with a 73 in the final round while Hardy shot a 76, leaving the two tied at -4 to share the Big Ten title.

The Hawkeyes sat in third place after 54 holes, but Schaake’s performance was part of the team’s round-low 292 (-3) which allowed it to secure second place in the tournament.

Senior Ian Vandersee shot a five-under par 67 in the first round on Friday, but fell to rounds of 74 and 78 on Saturday in less-than-ideal weather. His 74 in the final round placed him in 11th place at +5.

Senior Brian Bullington opened with rounds of 75, 74, and 76, but his impressive 69 on Sunday shot him up the leaderboard and left him in 13th place.

With three players in the top-20, the Hawkeyes were tied with Maryland and had less than only the champion Illini.

Sophomore Raymond Knoll shot rounds of 73, 71, 79, and 76 to finish 11-over par, while junior Nate Yankovich shot 75, 78, 84, and 81 to finish 30-over.

Schaake’s co-championship makes him the first Hawkeye to win the tournament since 1992.

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