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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team travels to Parker, Colorado, for the Paintbrush Intercollegiate on Oct.10-11. The tournament is hosted by the University of Denver.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Oct. 10 — 36 holes, tee times starting at 9:30 off holes 1 and 10
Tuesday, Oct. 11 — TBD
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can follow this weekend’s action by visiting birdiefire.com or visiting the live link on hawkeyesports.com men’s golf schedule page.
LINK UP WITH THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa men’s golf program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” Hawkeye men’s golf on Facebook and follow @IowaHawkeyeGolf on Twitter and Instagram.
THE FIELD
Iowa is joined by an elite field of 14 teams — Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, LMU, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas Tech, Washington State, and Wyoming.
THE COURSE
Colorado Golf Club is one of the premire golf courses in Colorado. The course was ranked 33rd in Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Courses and fifth in Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Courses in 2015. The Paintbrush Intercollegiate is in good company as the Colorado Golf Club will be the host site to the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. The course also played host to the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup. Stretching up to 7,604 yards, playing as a par 72, the Championship Course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2007.
LAST TIME OUT
Iowa finished seventh at the eighth annual Golfweek Conference Challenge at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington, Iowa, last weekend. Senior Raymond Knoll led the Hawkeyes, finishing third overall to mark his second top-10 finish this season. He notched a 54-hole total of 209 (-7; 69, 71, 69).
THE LINEUP
At the top of the lineup is senior Raymond Knoll followed by sophomore Matthew Walker, senior Carson Schaake, freshman Alex Schaake, and junior Sam Meuret.
QUOTING COACH STITH
“We’ve had a good week of practice, and qualifying was very competitive. The guys traveling are playing the best right now and they’ve earned their spot. I have confidence in each and every one of them.”
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
Senior Raymond Knoll leads the Hawkeye squad with a scoring average of 71.3 this season. Knoll has been the top finisher for Iowa at two tournaments this fall. Sophomore Matthew Walker follows with a 71.7 strokes per round average and three top-10 finishes.
Iowa’s lowest 18 hole round of the season came on the last day of the Golfweek Conference Challenge when the Hawkeyes carded a 284 (-4). Matthew Walker led the Hawkeyes, firing a 66 (-6) — the lowest round of the entire tournament.
WALKER POSTS CAREER BEST
Sophomore Matthew Walker carded his lowest 18-hole score of his career on the final day of the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Walker posted a 66 (-6). The round was highlighted by 17 holes at par or better, including seven birdies. Walker climbed 22 spots on the leaderboard on the final day to finish tied for eighth with a 54-hole total of 214 (-2).
TOP-10 FINISHERS
Through three tournaments this fall, two Hawkeyes have recorded multiple top-10 finishes. Senior Raymond Knoll and sophomore Matthew Walker both registered top-10 finishes at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Knoll finished third, while Walker finished in a tie for eighth. The duo also finished in the top-10 at the Gopher Invite with Knoll finishing in fourth and Walker in a tie for seventh. Walker also finished in a tie for eighth at the WIndon Memorial Classic, while Knoll tied for 18th.
3 HAWKEYES ON B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Seniors Raymond Knoll and Carson Schaake, and sophomore Matthew Walker were named to the 2016 Big Ten Men’s Golf Preseason Watch List.
Knoll competed in every tournament for the Hawkeyes last year, averaging 73 strokes-per -round. He led Iowa with 10 rounds at par or better in the spring. Knoll finished in the top 20 in four events in the spring, including a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Schaake — the 2015 Big TenChampion averaged 72.97 strokes-per-round in his junior campaign. He finished at or below par in eight rounds and was Iowa’s top finisher in each of the last three 2016 spring events.
Walker competed in every tournament last season, becoming the first true freshman to do so since 1992 (Sean McCarty). Walker averaged 73.33 strokes-per-round in the spring and shot at or below par in eight rounds.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Carson Schaake and Raymond Knoll are the lone seniors leading the Hawkeyes this season. Knoll won the 2015 Golfweek Conference Challenge . He won the prestigious event with a 54-hole total of 205 (-11; 66, 67, 72) — the lowest three-round total in program history. Schaake won the individual Big Ten Championship title as a sophomore in 2015, becoming the third Hawkeye in program history to win a Big Ten Conference Title.
WALKER MAKES HISTORY
Sophomore Matthew Walker competed in every event for the Hawkeyes as a freshman. The Ottumwa, Iowa, native was the first true freshman to compete in every fall tournament for the Hawkeyes since Cole Peevler in 2005.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
Iowa’s adds four freshmen to the its 2016-17 roster. Ryoto Furuya (Georgia), Alex Schaake (Nebraska), Jack Simpson (Ontario), and Benton Weinberg (Maryland).
8 STRAIGHT NCAA APPEARANCES
Iowa has advanced to NCAA competition in each of the last eight seasons, joining Illinois as the only Big Ten teams selected to NCAA Regional competition in each of the last eight seasons. Iowa has advanced to the NCAA Championship finals three times in the last seven years (2009, 2011, 2012).
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS
Iowa has won 12 tournaments since 2008 and has had 15 individual medalists since 2009, including Carson Schaake, who was crowned individual co-champion at the 2015 Big Ten Championships and Raymond Knoll who won last year’s GolfWeek Conference Challenge. The Hawkeyes have also had three All-Americans since 2008.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the Paintbrush Intercollegiate, the Hawkeyes will take a week off before playing their final tournament of the fall at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate on Oct. 24-25.
