Iowa men’s golf falls to Florida in dual match
The Hawkeyes lost five of six matches against the 11th-ranked Gators.
Benton Weinberg takes a starting shot during a golf invitational at Finkbine Golf Course on Saturday, April 20, 2019. Iowa came in first with a score of 593 against 12 other teams.
March 30, 2021
When unranked Iowa men’s golf scheduled a match-play dual against No. 11 Florida, winning odds did not appear to be in the Hawkeyes’ favor.
On Monday, the red-hot Gators — that have won two of their last three team tournaments — defeated the Hawkeyes, 5-1, at Calusa Pines Golf Club in the Sunshine State.
Iowa senior Benton Weinberg was the Hawkeyes’ lone victor, as his fellow seniors Alex Schaake, Charles Jahn, and Jake Rowe were all beaten by Florida foes.
Iowa junior Gonzalo Leal Montero and sophomore Mac McClear also lost by margins of 3&2 and 4&3, respectively.
While the Hawkeyes did stumble on Monday, Weinberg still believes the trip to Naples, Florida, benefited his team.
“I think playing against Florida was really good for all of us,” Weinberg said. “We could all see what a top team in the country is like. I mean, Jake played really well. Jake almost won his match. A couple of the other guys just had bad days. But I think everyone can kind of see that if we are playing well. We can compete with them.”
To win his match, Weinberg had to rally on the back nine just to tie Florida’s Joe Pagdin through 18 holes of action. On the first extra hole the pair played, Weinberg sealed his comeback win over Pagdin.
“I was three down to turn through nine,” Weinberg said. “I just kind of hung in there. “The course is pretty tough so as long as you’re hitting greens and giving yourself chances for birdies and making birdies and pars, you can hang around and that’s kind of what I did. I just hit fairways and greens on the back nine and I was able to get it to extra holes and win.”
RELATED: Iowa golf teams hit the road
Even though match-play duals don’t carry as much weight as stroke play events for both individuals and teams in the Golfstat’s college golf rankings, Hawkeye head coach Tyler Stith still wanted to schedule a challenging match for his team to ensure that it is ready for the inaugural Calusa Cup that begins next Sunday at the same venue Iowa and Florida played at on Monday.
“It was a great opportunity to play a competitive round and get a chance to hit some pressure shots on a tournament golf course,” Stith said. I think the experience that we gained will really help us out a lot next week.”
The Calusa Cup, which the Hawkeyes will host, is set to feature some of the top men’s golf teams in the country.
The nine-team field will feature Iowa, Florida, No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 6 Texas, Georgia Tech, Purdue, and Marquette. John Pak, the best men’s golfer in the nation per GolfStat, will compete alongside his Seminole teammates.
The Calusa Cup ends April 6 and will serve as the last event of Iowa’s southern swing. The Hawkeyes’ first Midwestern event will be the one they host — the Hawkeye Invitational April 17 and 18.
