Iowa men’s golf finishes 13th at the Puerto Rico Classic

The Iowa men’s golf team competed at the Puerto Rico Classic this week, finishing 13th of 15 teams on Wednesday.

Teams among the Hawkeyes included Ole Miss, Purdue, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, North Florida, LSU, Marquette, Minnesota, College of Charleston, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.

The Hawkeyes disappointed on day one, tying for 13th place with Ohio State with a team score of 294. Max Tjoa and Josh Lundmark tied for 44th place individually with a 72, as no other Hawkeyes finished in the top 50 on the day. 

“We started the round slow,” head coach Tyler Stith told HawkeyeSports. “We settled into the round a bit but never really got anything going. We didn’t make enough momentum putts.”

On day two, the Hawkeyes improved but were still stuck in 13th place as a team. The team shot a 289, with Lundmark moving to 32nd with a 71. Tjoa dropped to 51st, tied with teammate Gage Messingham, who shot a 72. Ryan Shellberg had a rough day, shooting 81 on day two after putting up a 76 in round one. 

In round three, the Hawks again improved with a team score of 284. Iowa finished the Puerto Rico Classic in 13th place with a total score of 867. Lundmark was the best performer for the Hawkeyes, shooting a 69 in round three to finish tied for 27th individually with a total score of 212. Messingham and Tjoa tied for 55th place. Chance Rinkol finished 79th, and Shellberg concluded the tournament tied for 86th with a total score of 230. 

“It’s nice to finish with our best round of the week,” Stith said. “We made a few more birdies today but just not enough for the week. I’m really proud of Josh. He doubled his first hole of the day and fought back to shoot 69. He had a very solid week.”

Up next

The Iowa men’s golf team returns to action March 2 and 3 where it heads to Bluffton, South Carolina, to compete in the Colleton River Collegiate hosted by Michigan State.