Usually Chris has more radical golf takes than I do. This week, I’m breaking the mold.

I think the Iowa men’s golf team has everything it takes to place third at the 2022 Big Ten Championships April 27-May 1.

Yes, Iowa’s best finish of the regular season came last weekend at the Hawkeye Invitational. I also understand that the Hawkeyes had a decided advantage over the rest of the field given the event was held at their home course.

All that said, I still believe in momentum — even if some fans and pundits don’t. I think Iowa can use the momentum it gained from its second-place outing at the Hawkeye Invitational to push its way into the Big Ten Tournament’s top three.

Juniors Garrett Tighe and Mac McClear and senior Gonzalo Leal Montero all posted their highest individual finishes of the season at the Hawkeye Invitational. Tighe placed second with McClear and Montero behind him in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Second is Tighe’s best collegiate finish. He missed out on first place at the Hawkeye Invitational by one shot.

With Tighe, McClear, and Montero playing their best golf of the season, there’s no doubt in my mind Iowa can place in the top three at the Big Ten Tournament.

McClear has the firepower to win the event as an individual. He was the 2021 Big Ten Champion at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. McClear shot a 1-under-par 215. He was three shots clear of the rest of the field.

If McClear repeats as Big Ten Champion and Tighe and Montero finish inside the top 10, I like Iowa’s odds to place third or better as a team in this year’s league tourney.