Hawk Talk Monthly — September 2017 | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Photo Gallery | Round 2 Results (PDF)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Senior Sam Meuret shot a 69 (-3) in the second round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge to keep the Iowa men’s golf team in second place at 11-under-par (565). The Hawkeyes fired a six-under-par (282) on the day at the par-72 Cedar Rapids Country Club.
The Hawkeyes currently sit five strokes behind North Carolina State who is leading with a 16-under-par (560). San Francisco shot a round-best, seven-under-par to move into third place at four-under-par (572).
Alex Schaake birdied the 18th hole, the fourth toughest hole on the course, for the second straight day to card a two-under-par (70) in the second round. Schaake is currently tied for sixth and only four strokes off the lead going into the final round.
Matthew Walker and Ryoto Furuya are tied for 11th place with a 36-hole score of 142 (-2). Furuya registered three birdies on the front nine to finish with a one-under par (71) on day two. Walker barely missed a tough-sloping par putt on the 18th hole to finish at an even-par (72) on the day.
Meuret used a 20-foot eagle putt on hole nine to gain momentum for an impressive second round performance. Along with the eagle, Meuret had two birdies and only one bogey.
“I felt like I was struggling to get going, so the eagle was a great jumpstart to my round,” Meuret said. “It’s always a good feeling to help the team out with a good round, especially when we’re in a good position. I did a good job today of keeping the ball in front of me and avoiding any tricky shots. I tried to make it as easy on myself as I could.”
“We need to focus on what we’re doing and play a solid round tomorrow,” Meuret said. “North Carolina State is a great team, but if we play as well as we know we can, we’ll have a good chance to win tomorrow.”
IOWA SCORECARD
| 2. | Iowa | 283 | 282 | -11 |
| T-6. | Alex Schaake | 70 | 70 | -4 |
| T-11. | Matthew Walker | 70 | 72 | -2 |
| T-11. | Ryoto Furuya | 71 | 71 | -2 |
| T-16. | Sam Meuret | 74 | 69 | -1 |
| T-46. | Benton Weinberg | 72 | 77 | +5 |
HAWKEYES ON THE TEAM LEADERBOARD
For the second straight day, all four scorers shot at or below par. Meuret moved into the top-20 after a strong round and Schaake is only one stroke out of the top-five. Iowa leads the field with the most top-20 individuals with four.
COACH STITH’S COMMENTS
“We worked hard today and managed to close the gap in front of us. I’m very happy for Sam. We needed him today and he stepped up in a big way. We are just going to play our game tomorrow. We have to be committed and play with confidence.”
TUESDAY’S PAIRINGS
Round three will begin with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes will be paired with North Carolina State and San Francisco and will start on holes one through four.
