The Iowa men’s golf team will begin its spring slate at the Big Ten Match Play Championship Friday and Saturday. The event will be held on the Island Course at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.

The Hawkeyes are seeded seventh in the 11-team field and will begin play against 10th-seeded Minnesota. Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio State aren’t competing in the event.

The single-elimination tournament allows teams to compete in a maximum of two matches per day. Each team will bring five players. Every individual match will be worth one point. If two teams are tied after all five matches, tiebreaking criteria will be used.

Iowa will start senior Gonzalo Leal Montero, sophomore Callum Macfie, and juniors Ronan Kleu, Mac McClear, and Garrett Tighe.

Kleu transferred to the University of Iowa from Columbus State University before the 2021-22 season began. Columbus State is an NCAA Division II school in Ohio.

Kleu led the Hawkeyes in scoring average during the fall season, taking about 71 strokes per 18-hole round.

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Match play, unlike stroke play, is decided on a hole-by-hole basis. Iowa head coach Tyler Stith believes the format is perfect for an early season event like the Big Ten Match Play Championship.

“The Match Play is one of my favorite tournaments of the season,” Stith said in a release. “The format adds excitement and creates pressure situations. As a player, you will find out exactly what you need to improve on. It’s the perfect event to begin the spring season.”

Iowa finished second in last year’s Big Ten Match Play Championship. The Hawkeyes have never recorded a better finish at the event.

McClear and Leal Montero are the only players on Iowa’s active roster that have competed in the Big Ten Match Play Championship before.

McClear holds a 3-3-1 combined record in his two previous appearances in the Big Ten Match Play Championship. Leal Montero has gone 4-5-1 in four appearances in the tournament.

McClear believes he’s found some success in the Big Ten Match Play Championship because he approaches every tournament the same way, regardless of format.

“I think, anytime you’re playing golf, no matter the format, you just have to focus on your own game,” McClear said in a release. “I think in match play sometimes guys get too caught up in what their opponent is doing. So, I’m just going to go out there and try to play my best golf. I know if I play well everything will be taken care of and I don’t necessarily need to change any strategy or my game to win.”

This week’s field features four teams ranked inside of golfstat.com’s list of the top 50 NCAA Division I teams. Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana, and Maryland check in at 22, 28, 31, and 34.

Live results for the Big Ten Match Play Championships can be found at golfstat.com.

Iowa’s first stroke play event of the year will be the Puerto Rico Classic. The Purdue-hosted tournament will be held at Rio Mar Beach Resort on Feb. 14-15.