The Iowa women’s golf team will open up the 2023 season at the Wisconsin-hosted Badger Invitational from Sept 17-19.

The event will be held at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin, and will host 15 teams from around the country. 

The course will provide the Hawkeyes with a challenge to open their season. The course is well-known for its combination of prairie, marshland, and Wisconsin woodland as well as for its host of various Big Ten and PGA senior events.

The Hawkeyes, who finished last season 11th in the Big Ten Championships, are competing in the event for the third-straight season. But the team hopes to have better luck this year after a tenth-place finish in last year’s event. 

And after an up-and-down season that saw the Wisconsin Badgers earn fifth place at the Big Ten Championships last year, they opened this season at Charleston’s Cougar Classic, earning 16th place. 

Along with Wisconsin and Iowa, two other Big Ten teams will compete in the Badger Invitational in the Indiana Hoosiers and Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 

The Hoosiers opened their 2023 campaign at the Purdue Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette, Indiana, finishing in seventh place. Rutgers joined Indiana in the event but could do no better than its conference foe, finishing in 10th place.

But the Hawkeyes will have plenty of competition outside of the Big Ten.

The rest of the field includes Augusta, Colorado State, Delaware, East Tennessee State, New Mexico State, North Florida, Sam Houston State, South Florida, California-Davis, UTSA, Antonio, and Yale. 

Delaware, Colorado State, North Florida, and Davis competed in last season’s event, but North Florida earned the highest finish of the group, coming in at fourth place. 

South Florida and Sam Houston State both qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, and UTSA senior Camryn Carreon advanced to the third round of the individual championships. 

Men moving east

After finishing in second place to Iowa State in the ANF Fall Classic in Riverside, Iowa, on Sept. 6, the Iowa men’s golf team travels to Chicago to play in the Chicago Highlands Collegiate at the Chicago Highlands Club from Sept 18-19. 

This will be the inaugural edition of the tournament, playing host to some of the top teams around the country. 

The Chicago Highlands Club opened in 2010 and features amazing views of the Chicago skyline as well as elevation changes of over 80 feet. And despite the event location in Chicago, Wake Forest University will host. 

The Hawkeyes and Demon Deacons have some familiarity with each other, as Iowa competed in last season’s Wake Forest Invitational, finishing in a tie for fourth place. As the host team, the Demon Deacons will have their entire team competing in the tournament. 

Wake Forest began the season ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll. But the Demon Deacons struggled in their season opener at the Washington-hosted Sahalee Players Championship, finishing in 10th place. 

Wake Forest arch-rival Duke will make the trek to Chicago, having also opened its season in the Sahalee Players Championship. The Blue Devils bested their rivals with a fifth place finish in the event, coming off of a 22nd place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships. 

Along with Iowa, four other Big Ten teams will compete in the tournament in Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, and Maryland. 

Michigan opened its season at the South Dakota State-hosted Island Resort Intercollegiate in Bark River, Michigan, from Sept 3-4. The Wolverines dominated the tournament, shooting 30 under par and earning a season-opening victory. 

Penn State began the new season at the Marquette Intercollegiate from Sept 3-5. But the Nittany Lions struggled, finishing in eighth place while shooting a dismal 28 over par as a team. 

After a run to the NCAA Championships final, Indiana started its season on a disappointing note in Michigan State’s Folds of Honor Collegiate from Sept 4-6. The Hoosiers couldn’t get anything going, finishing in ninth place. 

After finishing in the cellar of the Big Ten a season ago, Maryland looks to make a statement in the Highlands Collegiate — its 2023 season opener

The rest of the field includes Charleston, Yale, Furman, Missouri, and Virginia.

Missouri is the only team in the field that has played in two tournaments so far this season. The Tigers hosted the Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff on Labor Day weekend and played in the Mirabel Maui Jim Intercollegiate from Sept 8-10. 

Virginia enters the season fresh off of a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships last season. The Cavaliers played in the Valero Texas Collegiate from Sept. 9-11, finishing in fourth place. 

The tournament will be held over a two-day span, lasting three rounds with 36 holes played on day one and 18 holes on day two.