The Iowa men’s and women’s golf teams competed at the Puerto Rico and Tulane classics, respectively, earlier this week.

The Hawkeye women finished 13th of 17 teams with an 88-over-par, 952-stroke three-round total. The Iowa men were 10th of 13 schools, posting a 26-under-par 838 over three days of competition.

Georgia won the Puerto Rico Classic and North Texas earned a victory at the Tulane Classic.

Freshman Paula Miranda led the women’s team as she secured a tie for 30th individually with an 18-over-par mark. Junior Mac McClear climbed to the ninth spot in the men’s event to pace the Hawkeyes.

McClear, Leal Montero finish strong

After telling The Daily Iowan that a top-10 finish in the Puerto Rico Classic would be a success for him, McClear began the tournament with four birdies in his first seven holes. He made just one bogey in that stretch.

McClear played the remainder of his first round in even par, counting three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey over his final 11 holes. He was in a tie for 22nd at 3-under-par after day one.

In the second round, the reigning Big Ten individual medalist’s scorecard was far less colorful. He made three birdies and one bogey to shoot 2-under-par and move to 5-under-par for the event.

His round, however, moved him down the leaderboard into a tie for 24th.

McClear shot an 8-under-par 64 on the final day of the tournament to move up 15 spots in the leaderboard. He finished in a tie for ninth with a 13-under-par 203.

Iowa’s No. 1 player tallied 10 birdies, two bogies, and six pars en route to the third-lowest 18-hole score in the history of the Hawkeye men’s golf program. McClear’s 20 birdies combined over the three rounds was tied for the second-most in the field.

Oklahoma’s Chris Gotterup totaled two more birdies than McClear and carded only two bogies over the entire tournament to win the event at 20-under-par.

On the final day, Hawkeye senior Gonzalo Leal-Montero fired a 67. Iowa junior Ronan Kleu also put together a round of 66 on the second day.

“The team finished strong today led by Mac [McClear] and Gonzalo [Leal Montero]” head coach Tyler Stith said in a release following the event. “We improved every round and put our best performance together today.  Mac had his putter rolling early and made 10 birdies. Gonzo played really solid. Hit the driver well, took advantage of the par fives, and only made one bogey.”

Miranda leads Hawkeyes, again

For the Iowa women’s team, Miranda’s tie for 30th at 18-over-par was the top performance of the week.

After three rounds, Miranda totaled five birdies and tied for the third-best par-4 scoring average in the field at 4.17.

Miranda has been the top-finishing Hawkeye in four of the last stroke-play events Iowa has competed in.

Up Next 

The Hawkeye women’s team will compete next at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Arizona, from Feb. 27-28. The Iowa men are off until the Wake Forest Invitational in Pinehurst, North Carolina, from March 7-8.