By Jess Westendorf
The Iowa men’s golf team placed fifth (9-over) at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate on Tuesday to record its highest finish this fall.
Baylor hosted the event and won the tournament with a three-round score of 1,034, followed by Houston in second (1,066). Of the teams competing, four were ranked within the top-50 Golfstat Relative Rankings — Baylor (No. 14), Kent State (No. 20), Michigan (No. 40), and New Mexico (No. 46).
Sophomore Matthew Walker led the way for Iowa with a three-round run of 71, 69, and 70 for a season best 54-hole total of 210 (3-under). In Tuesday’s final round he carded a 70 (1-under) to put him in a tie for ninth.
“Matthew had a great tournament,” said head coach Tyler Stith in a release. “After starting out slow in the first two rounds, he showed a lot of patience and made a few birdies. He came back with another solid round today. He’s really becoming one of the better players in the Big Ten.”
Following Walker was senior Raymond Knoll, who carded a 72 in Tuesday’s final round. Knoll shot 15 holes at par or better with birdies on holes 14 and 16. He tied for 21st overall (215).
Junior Sam Meuret jumped eight spots on the leaderboard after carding his best round of the tournament Tuesday. Meuret shot three birdies to give him an even-par 71. He tied for 36th overall and a tournament total of 218, his lowest score of the fall.
Freshmen Alex Schaake and Ryoto Furuya tied for 43rd with a tournament total of 219. Schaake shot rounds of 71, 76, and 72 while Furuya shot rounds of 71,73, and 75 to give him a season-best three-round total.
Rounding out the Hawkeyes lineup was senior Carson Schaake. He finished 54th overall with a 54-hole total of 223 with round scores of 79, 71, and 73.
“We got a glimpse of what this team is capable of, but we have a lot more left in the tank,” said Stith in a release. “We want to prove to ourselves how good we can be. We took a step in the right direction with our highest finish of the fall. This gives us good momentum and energy heading into our spring season.”