The Iowa men’s golf team will return to action to host the annual Hawkeye Invitational this weekend at Finkbine.

Since the start of the tournament, Iowa has won the Hawkeye Invitational 14 times, with four of its titles coming in the last seven years.

The team’s most recent victory came in 2014; Iowa tied for second last season with a 54-hole total of 858.
Iowa will host 14 teams this weekend, including the Big Ten’s Minnesota and Nebraska. The first 36 holes are set for a shotgun start at 9 a.m. on Saturday with the final 18-hole round set for April 16 at 9 a.m.

Recently, the course has hosted the 2010 Iowa State Women’s Amateur, 2013 Iowa Match Play, and the 2014 Iowa State Men’s Amateur.

The Hawkeyes are coming off a seventh-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship on April 1-2.

Sophomore Matthew Walker led the Hawkeyes, finishing 15th. He was the only Hawkeye to finish at or below par in all three rounds at the tournament. Iowa will not only look to Walker but seniors Carson Schaake and Raymond Knoll to help boost the Hawkeyes.

Schaake and Knoll finished 27th and 28th at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Schaake shot an even par, and Knoll finished 1 stroke behind at 214 (1-over).

After the Hawkeye Invitational this weekend, the Hawkeyes will focus on their next competition, the Robert Kepler Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by Ohio State.

— by Jess Westendorf