Iowa men’s golfer Noah Kent was determined to compete in his first tournament in a Hawkeye uniform after a tough offseason in which he broke his wrist.

He finally got back out on the links during day one of the ANF Fall Classic on Tuesday.

“I was just happy to be able to play again,” Kent said. 

He was selected as one of Iowa’s two freshman starters for the tournament.  

Despite winning the tournament last season, the Hawkeyes struggled, ending day one in third place behind North Alabama and Iowa State. 

Kent began the day strong, jumping into second place with three early birdies. His wrist injury seemed to catch up with him on the back nine, finishing with a 73 that put him one over par. 

“It’s good. Just got to wrap it up before every round. Just keep a little pressure on it, but we’re good to go,” Kent said. 

Head coach Tyler Stith was pleased with Kent’s performance. 

“He’s played a lot of tournament golf in his career. He’s going to have a great career, and he certainly showed some of that today,” Stith said. 

Weather a cause for concern 

The conditions were rough at times at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course, with winds gusting up to 12 miles per hour. 

Kent, from Naples, Florida,  certainly isn’t used to a colder climate, but he joked about the recent heat wave in eastern Iowa. 

“I’ve joked around saying I brought the heat with me and then I brought the rain. Maybe this winter I’ll bring the Florida climate with me,” he said. 

Iowa trails first-place Iowa State by thirteen strokes. Kent knows what he needs to improve on to catch the Cyclones. 

“I feel like if I put the ball in play and just putt a little bit better, something was going to come out of me,” Kent said.

McClear leads Hawkeyes 

Fifth-year standout Mac McClear, who won the individual title in last year’s Fall Classic, led the Hawkeyes in scoring on Tuesday.

McClear ended his day shooting seven under par, good enough for third place. Despite this, McClear wasn’t happy with his performance. 

“Not feeling great today, but I hung in there and ended up shooting a pretty good score,” he said. 

McClear also stressed problems with the gusty wind. 

“I usually like the winds, but today I really did not hit my irons very good,” he said. 

Head coach Tyler Stith

The Hawkeyes started round one strong, finishing five under par. 

“I felt like we were ready to play this morning, and I felt like the morning round the course was playing a little bit easier,” Head coach Tyler Stith said. 

The afternoon round was frustrating, however, as Iowa finished with 290, good enough for a two over par. 

“Obviously it got harder as the wind picked up, so it’s a little disappointing. But we’ve got a lot of golf left,” Stith said. 

The final round of the ANF Fall Classic will begin on Wednesday at 9 a.m.