After a few weeks off, the Iowa men’s and women’s golf teams returned to the links from March 4-5. The men competed in the Wake Forest Invitational in Pinehurst, North Carolina, while the women’s team headed to Jacksonville, Florida, for the 19-team UNF Collegiate. 

It was a struggle for the men’s team as they were unable to recover from a bad opening day and finished in last place out of 12 teams. 

On the flip side, the women fought hard and ended their tournament with a respectable eighth-place showing. 

After an eighth-place finish in the Puerto Rico Classic to open the spring schedule, the Iowa men’s golf team hoped to build off of that performance in the Wake Forest Invitational. However, that wasn’t the case for head coach Tyler Stith’s squad. 

The Hawkeyes posted a team score of 598 through the first two rounds — a whopping 38 strokes over par and dead last in the standings. 

The slow start could have been attributed to the extreme difficulty of Pinehurst No. 2, which has hosted the 2014 U.S. Open along with other professional tournaments.

Third-year Ian Meyer earned the high score of the day for Iowa with 148 — placing him 38th on the leaderboard and eight strokes over par for the event. 

After day one, East Tennessee State was leading the pack with a measly eight over par, but ETSU third-year Algot Kleen concluded the rounds in a first-place tie with Wake Forest’s Daniel Sheedy. 

Day two was a bit of deja vu for the Hawkeyes as they finished with a 302 — their worst score of the tournament, securing last place. Iowa ended the event 60 over par. 

Meyer remained Iowa’s leading scorer and finished in 45th place. 

Auburn rode a late surge and stole the championship from ETSU by one stroke, while ETSU’s Mats Ege claimed the individual title. 

Bounce back in a big way

Following a ninth-place outing at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Arizona, the Iowa women’s golf team bounced back in a big way at the UNF Collegiate. 

The Hawkeyes responded right away in round one, tied for fourth place with Sam Houston at 290 — good for one stroke under par and nine strokes behind leader UTSA. 

Second-year Madison Dabagia led the way for Iowa with a score of 66 — positioning her in a tie for second place with Emma Bunch of New Mexico State. Dabagia’s performance tied the program record for an 18-hole round.  

On day two, the Hawkeyes faced the uphill battle of playing 36 holes in one day, but it didn’t seem to affect them in round two.

Iowa improved its round one showing by three strokes, though strong performances from the rest of the field saw the Hawkeyes dip down to fifth in the standings. 

Dabagia picked up right where she left off by firing two under par to remain in the top five heading into the final round. 

Iowa struggled in the final round with an overall team score of 291 — three strokes over par and an eighth-place finish. Dabagia went one over par in the round but still earned a fourth-place tie with Camryn Carreon of UTSA. 

Sam Houston took home the championship after shooting 18 under par in the final session, beating out UTSA by five strokes. 

Bunch and North Florida’s Christin Eisenbeiss tied for first place on the individual scale with total tournament scores of 204 — 12 strokes under par. 

Up next 

The women’s team returns to action from March 10-12 in the Tulane Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The men’s team will have some time to regroup before a trip to the All-American Collegiate in Houston, Texas, from March 18-19.