By Jess Westendorf
The Iowa men’s golf team will head back into action this weekend at the Windon Memorial Tournament, hosted by Northwestern.
The first and second rounds will be on Sept. 25, and the final round will be played Sept. 26.
This year, the tournament will be played at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Illinois. The country club is a highly rated course that has hosted many championships, including the 1933 U.S. Open.
“North Shore looks like it has a very traditional, Midwestern layout. I think Finkbine is a really good place to practice and get ready for the challenges of North Shore,” said Iowa head coach Tyler Stith. “The course is fairly tree lined, making the right club selection off each hole and being able to execute tee shots are important. Once you get the ball in play, the course is extremely scoreable.”
The lineup for this weekend’s tournament has not yet been set. The team will participate in a qualifier on Saturday to see who will land a spot.
Iowa will be one of 13 programs to participate in the tournament this year. The Hawkeyes will be joined by Purdue, which broke the tournament scoring record (22-under) last year. Florida will also compete in the tournament and will be the only ranked team; the Gators are ranked No. 6 in the coaches’ poll.
The Hawkeyes said they feel good about where they are. They put a lot of work and emphasis on improving the way they hit the ball as well as where they hit the ball. They embraced the time they had off to focus on individual improvement.
Senior Carson Schaake talked about his struggles with his driver at Minnesota and how that was his main focus. He finished at 226 and ended up in a tie for 44th place at the Gopher Invitational.
“Coach and I have worked pretty hard on [my drives] the past week after Minnesota; it’s still a work in progress. It will keep getting better,” Schaake said. “Once I figure my driver out, I think it will give me confidence with all my clubs. Instead of having putts for par, I’ll have putts for birdie, and it’ll help my whole game.”
Senior Raymond Knoll also wanted to improve his drives, especially with how narrow the course could be. Knoll finished strong in fourth place at the Gopher Invitational at 213, the top Hawkeye at the tournament.
“The main thing I wanted to work on the past week and a half was driving my ball and getting the ball off the tee and getting the ball in play,” Knoll said. “Going to Northwestern, a Chicago country club, the courses are a little bit shorter and a little bit more narrow, so it’s just important to get the ball off the tee.”