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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s golf team posted a final-round four-under-par 284 to place second at the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes carded a 54-hole total of 849 (-15; 283, 282, 284) at the par-72 Cedar Rapids Country Club to finish just two strokes behind North Carolina State (847, -17).
Sophomore Alex Schaake finished second – the highest finish of his Hawkeye career — with a career-low 54-hole score of 208 (-8; 70, 70, 68). Schaake was nine-under-par on the back nine for the tournament. He led the field in par-four scoring at 3.75 and birdied a challenging 18th hole in every round.
“It’s disappointing (to finish second),” Schaake said. “The kid I played with made a good putt on the last hole to beat us. We played really well. After a bad finish last week, to comeback this week with a different five, shoot well under par, and not use a score over par in any round is a huge confidence booster; especially going into a tough course next week. We are going to feed off this going forward.”
Ryoto Furuya topped his performance at the Gopher Invitational by tying for 12th place, a career best. Furuya shot at or below par in all three rounds to set a career low 54-hole score of 214 (-2; 71, 71, 72).
Senior Sam Meuret continued his momentum from the second round by firing a three-under-par 33 on the front nine of the third round. Meuret carded an even-par 72 on the day to tie for 16th place with a 54-hole score of 215 (-1; 74, 69, 77).
Matthew Walker, the fourth top-20 finisher for the Hawkeyes, shot a two-over-par in the final round to finish the tournament at a tie for 19th place. Walker tallied a 54-hole score of 216 (E; 70, 72, 74).
Sophomore Benton Weinberg registered the third-most pars (41) in the field to tie for 30th. Weinberg carded a 54-hole score of 221 (+5; 72, 77, 72).
IOWA SCORECARD
| 2. | Iowa | 283 | 282 | 284 | -11 | 849 |
| 2. | Alex Schaake | 70 | 70 | 68 | -8 | 208 |
| T-12. | Ryoto Furuya | 71 | 71 | 72 | -2 | 214 |
| T-16. | Sam Meuret | 74 | 69 | 72 | -1 | 215 |
| T-19. | Matthew Walker | 70 | 72 | 74 | E | 216 |
| T-30. | Benton Weinberg | 72 | 77 | 72 | +5 | 221 |
HAWKEYES ON THE TEAM LEADERBOARD
Schaake was two strokes behind North Carolina State’s Benjamin Shipp, who carded a tournament-best 10-under-par (206). Iowa led the field with four top-20 finishers. The team never counted a score over par as the Hawkeyes registered 12 of 15 total rounds at or below par.
COACH STITH’S COMMENTS
“We come away knowing we have the game to win. We have to learn from today and execute better next time. We did manage to grab the lead momentarily, but weren’t sharp enough inside 100 yards. This was a good response (based on last tournament’s performance). It shows this team has character. We know where we need to improve. We need to build off this and prepare to do it again in Dallas.”
NEXT TOURNAMENT
The Hawkeyes return to action Sept. 24-26 at the inaugural Trinity Forest Invitational, hosted by SMU, in Dallas, Texas. The tournament features an elite 13-team field with ranked teams, including Pepperdine, Oregon, USC, Auburn, Florida, and Clemson.
