Iowa men’s golf climbs to fourth at Fighting Irish Classic

The Hawkeye men’s golf team notched its third top-5 finish of the fall season at the Fighting Irish Classic Monday.

Iowa’s Alex Schaake putts during a tournament at the Donald Ross Course at the Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.

Jess Westendorf, Sports Reporter
October 8, 2018

The Iowa men’s golf team finished in fourth place Monday at the Fighting Irish Classic with a final round score of 277 (7-under) and a 54-hole score of 833 (19-under).

The Hawkeyes’ 56 birdies were fifth best among the 15-team field, and their three eagles were second.

No. 29 Illinois took the team title with a three-round score of 808 with Georgia Southern coming in at second place with an 818. Iowa finished ahead of instate rival Iowa State, host Notre Dame, as well as four Big Ten programs (Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska).

Throughout the tournament, Iowa fought to stay in the top five.

“We lost some momentum between rounds, but the guys rebounded well down the stretch,” head coach Tyler Stith said in a release. “Benton [Weinberg] just played his game today, stayed patient, and hit a lot of greens. The course really suits his game. He’s a great ball striker, and when he’s confident with the putter he’s capable of shooting low scores.”

Going into Monday’s final round, the Hawkeyes were tied for fifth with Notre Dame. Junior Weinberg led the Hawkeyes during the first and second rounds of the tournament by tying a career-best 18-hole score of 67 (4-under) and tying for sixth overall with a 135 (7-under).

At the end of the final round, Weinberg fired his third-straight round at or below par with an 18-hole score of 70. He tied for 13th and earned his first top-20 finish of this season with a career-best 54-hole score of 205 (8-under).

Weinberg also finished second with a par-3 scoring average of 2.75 (3-under).

Junior Alex Schaake turned up the heat in the final round. After tying for 12th in the second round, Schaake jumped five spots on the leaderboard to not only earn his team-leading third top-10 finish but also a seventh-place tie with a career-best 54-hole score of 203.

He also notched his eighth team-leading round at or below par in the final round at Warren Golf Course.

Freshman Gonzalo Leal Montero dropped four spots between the second and third round. Going into the second round, he was tied for 30th. He ended the tournament tied for 34th after firing a personal-best 54-hole score of 213.

His shooting capabilities really took the spotlight with a fifth best par-5 scoring average of 4.22 (7-under).

Senior Matthew Walker finished next for the Hawkeyes. He carded an eagle on a par-5 to rise 18 spots on the leaderboard, carding a 68.

After soaring on the leaderboard, he finished tied for 34th with a three-round score of 213.

Last up for the Hawkeyes was redshirt junior Alex Moorman, who tied for 57th with a three-round score of 218.

Iowa’s last tournament will take place at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas on Oct. 22-23.