Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — March 2017 | Chechessee Creek Club Dual Notes
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team travels to Okatie, South Carolina, for the Chechessee Creek Club Dual this weekend. The Hawkeyes will face Big Ten foe Michigan State in a dual. The one-day event will be held at Chechessee Creek Club.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 12 — 11:30 a.m. start time.
LINK UP WITH THE HAWKEYES
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THE COURSE
The Chechessee Creek Club golf course stretches 6,594 yards, nestled in the oaks and pines of south eastern South Carolina. The par-71 course was disigned by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.
THE LINEUP
The best five scores out of six competitors will count. Iowa’s lineup will be determined during qualifying on Saturday, March 11.
LAST TIME OUT
Iowa defeated Indiana and No. 1 seeded Michigan State in the first two rounds of the Big Ten Match Play Championship in Palm Coast, Florida last month before falling to Penn State and Minnesota in the third and fourth rounds. The Hawkeyes opened its spring season finishing fourth at the annual event.
KNOLL, WALKER, SCHAAKE PRODUCE WINS AT B1G MATCH PLAY
Senior Raymond Knoll and sophomore Matthew Walker each posted three wins in four rounds at the Big Ten Match Play, while freshman Alex Schaake locked up two wins. Schaake fought back from a four-down deficit through 10 holes to knock off Michigan State’s Andrew Walker (2-up), before defeating Penn State in the third round. Knoll and Walker also posted wins against Penn State, Indiana, and Minnesota.
FACING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State is currently ranked 29th in the country and is coming off its third team win of the 2016-17 season. The Hawkeyes upset the Spartans in February at the Big Ten Match Play, with a victory via a tiebreaker that counted the most holes won.
MOORMAN JOINS IOWA LINEUP
The Hawkeyes welcomed redshirt freshman Alex Moorman to the team this winter. The Centerville, Iowa, native transfered from Kansas after making three starts for the Jayhawks and posting a 73.44 average this past fall. Moorman made his collegiate debut at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate posting a 68 (-3) on Sept. 23.
SCHMID NAMED ASSISTANT COACH
Former University of Iowa student-athlete Jeff Schmid was named interim assistant coach for the Iowa men’s golf program in early February. Schmid brings 18 years of professional golf experience and nine years of instruction and coaching experience.He most recently served as a golf instructor and professional at country clubs in Columbia, Missouri.
FALL RECAP
The Hawkeyes competed in five tournaments last fall, averaging 75.11 strokes-per-round as a team. Senior Raymond Knoll lead the Hawkeyes with a scoring average of 72.06, sophomore Matthew Walker followed close behind at 72.26. Freshman Alex Schaake recorded a top-20 finish at the Paintbrush Intercollegiate, finishing the fall slate with a 73.78 scoring average.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
Senior Raymond Knoll leads the Hawkeye squad with a scoring average of 72.06 this season. Knoll was the top finisher for Iowa at two tournaments this fall. Sophomore Matthew Walker follows with 72.26 strokes-per-round and has four 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 team, firing a 66 (-6) — the lowest round of the entire tournament.
Freshman Alex Schaake carded a career best at the Paintbrush Invitational, posting a 54-hole total of 218 (+2). He climbed 23 spots during his final round, posting a 71 and finishing in a tie for 18th overall. The Paintbrush Invitational was Schaake’s second tournament as a Hawkeye.
TOP-10 FINISHERS
Two Hawkeyes recorded multiple top-10 finishes during the fall season. 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, 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 Ten Champion — 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 has competed in every event for the Hawkeyes since his freshman year. The Ottumwa, Iowa, native was the first true freshman to compete in every fall tournament for the Hawkeyes since Cole Peevler in 2005.
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
Iowa will tee it up at the Schenkel Invitational on Friday, March 17th, in Statesboro, Georgia. The three-day event will be hosted by Georgia Southern.
