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INDEPENDENCE, Minn. — Junior Matthew Walker and sophomore Alex Schaake paced the University of Iowa men’s golf team on day one of the Gopher Invitational on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes are tied for 12th place after shooting a 21-over-par in nearly two rounds at the par-71 (7388 yards) Windsong Farm Club. Play was suspended at 7:30 p.m. due to darkness. The second round will resume at 8:30 a.m. (CT) tomorrow and continue into continuous shotgun play for the third round. Four of the five Hawkeyes finished a full two rounds on Sunday.
Walker had seven birdies on Sunday and fired a 36-hole total of 143 (+1; 72, 71) and is tied for 12th with 18-holes to play. Schaake is tied for 26th after shooting a 146 (+3; 74, 72) over 36-holes.
Arkansas leads the loaded 16-team field after shooting one-over par and fourth-ranked Baylor sits in second place at four-over-par. Iowa is only five shots behind the upper half of the field.
IOWA SCORECARD
| T-12. | Iowa | +21 | |
| T-10. | Matthew Walker | +1 | 143 |
| T-26. | Alex Schaake | +4 | 146 |
| T-51. | Ryoto Furuya | +8 | 150 |
| T-51. | Sam Meuret | +8 | 133 (four holes left)* |
| T-61. | Alex Moorman | +9 | 151 |
HAWKEYES ON THE TEAM LEADERBOARD
Numerous Hawkeyes had a slow start during round one, but rebounded nicely by posting a team-total of two-over-par on the front nine of round one. Iowa was tied with Oklahoma and Purdue for sixth place after round one by shooting 292 (+8). A competitive field, including five ranked teams, put the pressure on the Hawkeyes who currently are +13 in the second round.
COACH STITH’S COMMENTS
“We were competitive for 27 holes, nine-over for the day and one-over in the afternoon round. We compounded some mistakes and didn’t convert our chances. Matthew (Walker) executed well today. He’s striking the ball well and playing with confidence. We need to be focused and do the simple things well tomorrow. We have a great opportunity to move up the leaderboard.”
MONDAY’S PAIRINGS
After the second round is finished Monday morning, the final 18-holes of the Gopher Invitational will be a continuous shotgun based on teams’ second round pairings. For the third and final round, Iowa will be paired with Arkansas, Arizona State, and Kent State.
