April 15, 2015
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team looks to protect it’s home course when it hosts the 22nd annual Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational on April 18-19. The 54-hole tournament will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT) with a shotgun start. Participants will play 36 holes Saturday and 18 holes Sunday. Live scoring can be found here: http://bit.ly/1zgSdgK.
THE FIELD
In addition to Iowa, the 12-team field includes Denver, DePaul, Idaho, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Marquette, Minnesota, Nebraska, Washington State, and Wichita State.
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THE COURSE
The 7,239-yard, par-72 Finkbine Golf Course is prized by the University and Iowa City community alike. A tremendous test of skill, Finkbine was the site of the Amana VIP Pro-Am for more than 20 years, featuring the PGA’s finest, as well as national and local celebrities. In 1991, Finkbine became the host of the Ben Hogan Tour – Hawkeye Open. Collegiately, Finkbine has been the site for the 1992 and 2002 Men’s Big Ten Championships, the Hawkeye Intercollegiate and the Big Four Invitational.
THE LINEUP
Sophomores Carson Schaake and Raymond Knoll, seniors Brian Bullington and Ian Vandersee, and junior Nate Yankovich are set to compete for the Hawkeyes at the Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational this weekend. Junior Voramate Aussarassakorn and freshmen Jack Holmgren and Sam Meuret will compete as individuals.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Iowa was crowned tournament champions of the 2014 Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational, marking the fourth time in five years it has accomplished the feat. Steven Ihm captured his second consecutive Hawkeye-GRE Invitational title with a seven-under-par 209 (69, 71, 69). Iowa finished runner-up in the 2013 version of the Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational, finishing one stroke behind tournament champion Kansas. In 2012, Iowa captured the title behind a runner-up individual finish from Chris Brant. The Hawkeyes won the 2011 event behind tournament medalist Vince India, and dominated in 2010, winning the title by 12 strokes. Barrett Kelpin and Chris Brant tied for fourth individually.
LAST EVENT
Carding an 855 (+15) team total on 54 holes at Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course, Iowa finished in a tie for fifth place at the 43rd annual ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 3-4). Sophomores Raymond Knoll and Carson Schaake paced the way for the Hawkeyes throughout the two-day tournament, both finishing inside the top-20 on the individual leaderboard. Knoll fired a two-over-par 72 on the final round to finish tied for 14th individually. Knoll carded a 72 and a two-under-par 68, a season-best, on the first day of competition for a 54-hole total of 212 (+2). Schaake posted rounds of 73 and 70 on day one, before finishing with a 70 on day two. He finished with a total of 213 (+3) to tie for 19th.
HAWKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
The University of Iowa men’s golf team is ranked 46th out of 302 teams in the most recent Golstat Relative Rankings and Golfweek Rankings, and are the second-highest ranked Big Ten team.
6-STRAIGHT NCAA APPEARANCES
Iowa has advanced to NCAA competition in each of the last six seasons, joining Illinois and Northwestern as the only Big Ten teams selected to NCAA Regional competition in each of the last six seasons. Iowa has advanced to the NCAA Championship finals three times in the last six years.
NEW FACE AT THE HELM
Tyler Stith is in his first year as the head coach at the University of Iowa in 2014-15. Stith was named the UI head coach on Aug. 22, 2014. Stith, a former assistant coach and student-athlete at Iowa, served as assistant coach at Minnesota the last three years.
LOOKING AHEAD
Iowa travels to Newburgh, Indiana next weekend to compete at the Big Ten Championships on April 24-26. The Hawkeyes have placed third at the event in each of the last two seasons.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the men’s golf program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” Hawkeye men’s golf on Facebook (/hawkeyemensgolf) and follow @IowaHawkeyeGolf on Twitter.
