Hawkeye men’s golf hitting at ‘home’
Led by Matthew Walker and Alex Schaake, the Hawkeyes will take aim at first after finishing with the silver at last year’s Golfweek Conference Challenge.
Iowa’s Alex Schaake drives during a tournament at the Donald Ross Course at the Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.
September 13, 2018
Iowa men’s golf will host its lone meet in Iowa on Sept. 16-18, when the Hawkeyes compete in the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Cedar Rapids Country Club.
With the tournament being so close to Iowa City, the Hawkeyes want to take advantage of the familiarity of the course while playing in front of those close to them.
“We do not get to play in front of our family and friends often, so to be able to host this event at such a prestigious golf club is a privilege,” Iowa head coach Tyler Stith said in a release.
The field is filled with 15 teams from across the country, highlighted by No. 24 UCLA.
Iowa will combat its competition using a squad of senior Matthew Walker, juniors Alex Schaake, Alex Moorman, and Benton Weinberg, and freshman Gonzalo Leal Montero.
The Hawkeyes are coming off an impressive weekend at the Gopher Invitational in which they shot a 54-hole score of 851 — the fifth best three-round score in tournament history.
Walker led the charge for Iowa, finishing fifth with a 54-hole score of 210 (3-under).
Schaake followed, posting a three-round score of 211 to finish sixth. That marked Schaake’s fifth top-10 finish in his last 12 matches.
Iowa has finished in the top 10 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in the eight previous seasons, including first-place finishes in 1010 and 2015.
The Hawkeyes came close to another first place last season but finished second with a score of 849 (15-under). Schaake finished second in 2017, shooting a three-round score of 208 (8-under).
