By Jess Westendorf
The Hawkeye men’s golf team will compete in its first tournament of the season at the Gopher Invitational Saturday through Sept. 11.
The schedule consists of 36 holes on Saturday, with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 11 will consist of 18 holes with tee-times starting at 7:20 a.m. The Invitational will be played at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota. The course is a par-71 stretching out to 7,152 yards and is considered one of the top golf courses in Minnesota.
The Hawkeyes will compete against 13 other teams including three currently ranked in the Golfweek Coaches Poll — No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 11 California, and No. 20 Arkansas.
The Hawkeyes’ lineup for this weekend will start off with sophomore Matthew Walker in the No. 1 spot, with seniors Carson Schaake and Raymond Knoll in the second and third spots and freshmen Ryoto Furuya and Jack Simpson in the fourth and fifth spots.
Not only will the Hawkeyes have three of their top players back this season competing, they also welcomed four competitive freshmen to the team.
“Our expectations are really high; we have three of our top performers back and who have a lot of tournament experience. We also have four freshmen who are very competitive,” said head coach Tyler Stith.
Of the four new freshmen, two made their way into the first tournament’s lineup.
“My game feels good; I’m ready to go,” Schaake said.
On Wednesday, Schaake, Knoll, and Walker were named to the 2016 Big Ten Men’s Golf Preseason Watch list. Schaake played in every tournament last season, averaging 72 strokes per round. He came in as Iowa’s top finisher in the last three spring events.
Knoll also played in every tournament last season, averaging 73 strokes per round. He finished in the top 20 in four events in the spring, with a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship.
Walker, who made his début as a true freshman last season, also competed in every tournament, making him the first true freshman to do so since Sean McCarty in 1992. He averaged 73 strokes per round and shot at-or-below par in eight rounds.
“It’s definitely good to see Carson, Ray, and myself get that,” Walker said. “It’s still preseason, so you still have to go out and prove yourself.”
The team plans to do just that this weekend at the Gopher Invitational.
“The competition for this weekend’s tournament is really strong; there are eight to 10 teams competing that will make an appearance at the NCAA Tournament,” Stith said. “I expect us to do better than we did last year and be in contention for the final round with a chance to win.”