April 17, 2012
THIS WEEK –
The University of Iowa men’s golf team will conclude its regular season when it travels to West Lafayette, IN, for the Boilermaker Invitational April 21-22. The two-day tournament will be played at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. The first 36 holes will begin Saturday with a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m. (CT), followed by the final 18 holes beginning with tee times at 7:45 a.m. Sunday.
THE COURSE –
Competition will be played on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Playing to 7,465 yards from the championship tees, the course consists of bent-grass greens, fairways and tees for a difficult par 72. Kampen Course is regarded as one of the top collegiate golf courses in the nation, as well as one of the most difficult in Indiana. Iowa finished third at the 2011 Big Ten Championships played on the Kampen Course.
THE FIELD –
The 27th-ranked Hawkeyes will compete alongside a 15-team field which includes five Big Ten programs. Competition will include (with national ranking), Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Illinois (39), Indiana (36), IUPUI, Kent State (18), Michigan State (94), Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Purdue (56), TCU (37), Toledo, Wichita State (35).
LAST TIME OUT –
Iowa won its first tournament title of the spring season with a victory at its own Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational held at Finkbine Golf Course April 14-15. The Hawkeyes topped the 11-team field with a tournament total of 840 (-24), the third-lowest 54-hole team mark in program history. Senior Chris Brant finished second individually with a score of eight-under 208, the third-best 54-hole individual tally in Iowa record books.
BYRON NELSON AWARD –
Brant has been named one of five finalists for the 2012 Byron Nelson Award, presented by Cleveland Golf/Srixon. Candidates for the Byron Nelson Award must be a graduating senior, and the selection committee considers equally a nominee’s entire collegiate academic and golf career, and his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration will be given to a nominee’s good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Nelson over the course of his life and golf career. The recipient of the Byron Nelson Award will be named April 19.
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. After a second place finish at the 2010 Big Ten Championships, its best finish since 1992, Iowa placed third at the 2011 Big Tens. Hankins and company will look to make their fourth-consecutive NCAA postseason appearance this season.
UP NEXT –
Iowa will begin its postseason with the Big Ten Championships held April 27-29. Action will be held on a neutral site – the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Ind.