Iowa men’s golf takes eighth in Texas tourney with top teams
The Hawkeye men’s golf squad finished eighth in its trip to Texas.
Iowa’s Benton Weinberg stands on the green during a tournament at the Donald Ross Course at the Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.
October 23, 2018
The Iowa men’s golf team closed out its fall slate on Tuesday in Carrollton, Texas, at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. The Hawkeyes posted a 54-hole score of 884 (44-over), landing the team in eighth.
Iowa has now participated in this tournament nine times, and each time, the team has earned a top-10 finish; this year was no different.
No. 1 Oklahoma took home the team title, posting an 827 and finishing as the only team to record a total under par. No. 34 North Carolina State came in second with an 857. And getting the bronze was No. 6 SMU with an 863.
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Of the seven schools that finished ahead of the Hawkeyes, all are nationally ranked.
The leaderboard also showed that Iowa junior Benton Weinberg stayed hot throughout the tournament. He recorded his first top-10 finish this season by tying for 10th with a three-round score of 215 (5-over).
During Tuesday’s final round, he posted a 74 (4-over), which included 4 birdies that round alone.
There was also something special about the seventh hole for Weinberg or maybe it was a lucky hole for the Potomac, Maryland, native; he birdied the hole every round.
Next up for Iowa was junior Alex Schaake, who shot a three-round score of 216, tying for 12th. Schaake notched his fourth team-leading top-20 finish during the fall slate.
The Hawkeyes have seen an immense amount of success from freshman Gonzalo Leal Montero, and this tournament followed suit.
Montero finished at 223, putting him in a tie for 35th. But he had to work during the third round.
After shooting a third round score of 73 (3-over), Montero had jumped 10 spots on the leaderboard.
Senior Matthew Walker came in tied for 58th after scoring a 231. Rounding out the Hawkeye lineup was redshirt junior Alex Moorman, who carded a 233 to tie for 64th.
The Hawkeyes will now take a break until Jan. 26, when they will take part in Black & Gold Alumni Challenge in Naples, Florida.
Iowa can look forward to more impressive outings from Schaake, who has notched three top-10 scores and two top-20 scores. He leads the team in both categories.
It is also refreshing for Iowa to see a freshman have success. Montero made the lineup for every tournament this slate and gave a glimpse of what he can accomplish.
But taking a look back at this fall’s slate, the Hawkeyes have shown great potential. The team placed in the top 10 at four of the five tournaments with three of those being top-five finishes.
At the Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills, Iowa placed 11th, one spot away from ending the fall slate with all top-10 finishes.
Though there is room for improvement, the Hawkeyes have put up some impressive results, which will be a focus in the spring.
