Sept. 28, 2011
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THIS WEEK — The University of Iowa men’s golf team travels to the second annual Rod Myers Invitational Oct. 1-2. Held at the Duke University Golf Club, teams will play 36 holes of golf on Saturday with an 18-hole final round slated for Sunday. The event is named after the late Rod Myers, a coaching legend at Duke from 1973-2007. Fans can follow the action live at golfstatresults.com.
THE FIELD — Iowa is joined in the 11-team field by Duke, Baylor, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Tulsa. Tennessee is ranked No. 19 in the latest coaches’ poll, while Iowa and Baylor are also receiving votes.
THE COURSE — The Duke University Golf Club, which served as the host of the 1962 and 2001 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, will play as a 7,136-yard, par 72 for the 2011 Rod Myers Invitational. Opening in Sept. of 1957, The Duke course was immediately labeled one of the top university golf facilities in the nation. It has undergone several renovations, most recently in 1994 by Rees Jones. Ironically, Jones competed for Yale University on the original Duke course when Duke hosted the 1962 NCAA Championships.
REIGNING CHAMPS — Iowa led wire-to-wire to claim the team championship at the inaugural Rod Myers Invitational. The Hawkeyes shot 277-286-288 to finish with a 13-under 851. N.C. State was five shots back with an 856, while Charlotte finished third at four-under 860. Brad Hopfiner led the way for the Hawkeyes with a tournament total of four-under 212, good for a share of second place.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes finished sixth out of 15 teams at the 2011 Golfweek Conference Challenge Tuesday at Spirit Hollow in Burlington, Iowa. The Hawkeyes fired a three-day total of 879 (+15) as senior Chris Brant (T13) led the charge with a 54-hole total of 218 (+2).
HEAD COACH Mark Hankins — Hankins is in his fifth year as Iowa’s head men’s golf coach after spending seven years as the head coach at Michigan State University. Under Hankins, the Hawkeyes finished last season ranked ninth among all NCAA Division I teams. Hankins’ 2010-11 squad is coming off a 10th place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships, Iowa’s best finish since 1960. Hankins is a native of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and a graduate of Iowa State.