The Hawkeye men’s golf team believes short game will be crucial.

By Connor Sindberg
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During a typical freshman season, there are struggles of getting acclimated to college-level competition, not to mention getting used to college life and dealing with the difficulties of living on one’s own for the first time.

But for freshman Matthew Walker, it’s been a smooth transition. In just his first season, he has finished as the top performer for the Hawkeyes in two events.

At the Feb. 12-13 Big Ten Match Play, the Ottumwa native finished with 4-0 record and was one of six golfers to do so.

Walker’s early success doesn’t surprise head coach Tyler Stith, who had an idea of what Walker could bring to the program when he recruited him.

“Matt is someone that had an outstanding junior record,” Stith said. “The adjustment from junior to college is always difficult, but he’s someone who works extremely hard, and he gets more comfortable in each tournament he plays in. We’re just starting to see the beginning of what he’s capable of.”

Recently, Walker continued his recent hot streak with a seventh-place finish at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 2 and Sunday. That finish was the top performance for the Hawkeyes.

The freshman finished with an under-par score in all three rounds of the tournament, winding up at 206. Walker’s impressive consistency led to a final round of 70 (minus-1).

Although Walker has had an impressive first season to date, the freshman isn’t satisfied. He has high expectations for himself every time he gets out on the course.

“I was satisfied with my first performance of the spring season,” Walker said. “I played well at the Big Ten Match Play, but I didn’t play well at the Southwestern Jones Invitational or Schenkel Invitational. I still have a little bit of work to do.”

At both of those tournaments, Walker believed that he wasn’t able to score well because of the difficulties he had on the greens.

“I need to improve on my short game,” he said. “I’m doing pretty good off the tee, but I need to fine-tune my game around the greens.”

Not only has short game been a problem for Walker, but it seems to be common area of struggle for the rest of the Hawkeyes, too.

Upperclassmen Raymond Knoll and Nate Yankovich recognize the need for improvement around the greens.

“I’ve had some short-game issues,” Yankovich said. “I need refining on my short game, and I need to continue to work in those areas. That will be key for me.”

Knoll agreed; he has been rusty, especially with the putter.

“Putting is hard coming out of the off-season because you’re getting back onto real greens opposed to Astroturf that we practiced on in the winter,” he said. “Overall, I’ve slowly seen some improvements in that aspect of my game and I’m excited to see things start turning around.”