The Iowa men’s golf team finished in sixth place out of 16 teams at its own Hawkeye Invitational over the weekend in Iowa City. The event played host to some of the top teams in the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Creighton.
The Hawkeyes finished under par in each round, but stellar performances by Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois left them without a top-five finish.
First-year Noah Kent and second-year Hogan Hansen led the squad in scoring, with both golfers landing in a tie for ninth place with a 209. It marked Kent’s third top-10 finish of the year and Hansen’s first.
Wisconsin swept the individual and team championships, winning the team title by five shots over TCU. Fourth-year Cameron Huss claimed the individual crown by two strokes over Nebraska’s Harry Crockett.
How it happened
Iowa turned in a respectable team performance on day one and left the course in fifth place at three under par.
Second-year Hogan Hansen turned in a 137, placing him in third place at five strokes under par. Right behind him was first-year Max Tjoa, who tied for fourth place and carded a 138 – four strokes under par. Tjoa competed individually.
The third and final Hawkeye to end the day in the top-20 was Kent, who tied for 17th place and tallied a scorecard of 141 – one stroke under par.
Despite playing in the comfort of their own course, things didn’t get any better for the Hawkeyes on championship Sunday.
Iowa shot two under par in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to catapult the Hawkeyes into the top five due to a strong bounce-back session from Central Arkansas. Despite the sixth-place finish, the Hawkeyes were only two strokes behind TCU and Southern Illinois for second place.
Along with impressive showings from Kent and Hansen, third-year Ian Meyer capped off his tournament on a high note with an even final round. Meyer finished in a tie for 26th place.
Fifth-year standout Mac McClear ended his final home invitational in disappointing fashion, tying for 45th place while shooting a 217 – four strokes over par. In doing so, he failed to defend his title from last year’s Hawkeye Invitational.
Kepler Intercollegiate at a glance
Iowa has a quick turnaround in front of it, as it travels to Columbus for the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. The event will be hosted by Ohio State and marks the penultimate tournament of the season before the Big Ten Tournament. The invitational will be held at the Scarlet Course on the grounds of The Ohio State University Golf Club in downtown Columbus.
The tournament will feature Creighton, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Miami (OH), Purdue, South Dakota State, and others.
Creighton, South Dakota State, and Northern Illinois have some familiarity with the Hawkeyes, as each team competed in the Hawkeye Invitational last weekend. Northern Illinois and South Dakota State tied for eighth, while Creighton finished in 11th place.
Purdue enters the tournament with a ton of momentum after a second-place finish at the Calusa Cup on April 8. The Boilermakers have claimed two tournament titles this year along with three additional top-five finishes.
“We have another quick turnaround this week, so we have to learn from this,” Iowa head coach Tyler Stith told Hawkeye Sports. “Everybody has to figure out what they need to do to get in a better mindset to play the OSU Scarlet Course this week.”
