Three Iowa men’s golfers earn All-Big Ten honors

Alex Schaake earned his second straight unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team.

The Daily Iowan; Photos by Ben A

Iowa sophomore Alex Schaake poses for a portrait at Hoak Family Golf Complex on Tuesday, April 24, 2018.

Robert Read, Sports Editor


Three members of the Iowa men’s golf team — seniors Alex Schaake and Benton Weinberg, and sophomore Gonzalo Leal Montero — earned Big Ten recognition, the conference announced Monday.

Schaake, last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year, earned his second straight unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team. Schaake is the first Hawkeye since Steven Ihm (2013-14) to earn two consecutive first-team All-Big Ten honors. Schaake also joins Ihm as one of only two Hawkeyes to earn three career All-Big Ten awards.

An Omaha, Nebraska, native, Schaake led Iowa in rounds at or below par (11) and 18-hole stroke average (71.2). He tied for a season-best seventh place at the Colleton River Collegiate, recording his 11th career top-10 finish. His best three-round total of the season came at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic, where he fired a one-under-par 212.

Leal Montero was a second-team All-Big Ten selection, while Weinberg was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. It is Leal Montero’s first career All-Big Ten postseason honor.

Leal Montero was second on the team in 18-hole scoring average (71.8), while carding 10 rounds at or below par. The Seville, Spain, native tied for eighth at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate with a career-best 54-hole total of 208 (-5) to post the seventh-lowest three-round total in program history. The sophomore posted the lowest Hawkeye round of the season with a third-round 66 (-5) at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic.

Weinberg recorded eight rounds at or below par while averaging 73.7 strokes per 18 holes. The senior carded a season-best 69 in the final round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge.