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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team is back in action at the Windon Memorial Classic in Chicago. Hosted by Northwestern, the tournament will be played at the Evanston Golf Club.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First round: Sunday, Oct. 8 — 18 holes, tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. (CT) off 1 and 10
Second round: Sunday, Oct. 8 — 18 holes, tee times starting at noon (CT) off 1 and 10
Third round: Monday, Oct. 9 — 18 holes, tee times tarting at 8:00 a.m. (CT) off 1 and 10
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can follow this weekend’s action by visiting golfstat.com for live scoring. Links can be found on the men’s golf schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
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 14 of the nation’s top teams, including four other Big Ten teams in host Northwestern, Indiana, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Army, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Loyola (Chicago), Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Marquette, Princeton, and UC Davis round at the rest of the field. Nine of the 15 teams, including Iowa, competed in the tournament last year.
THE COURSE
One of the premier courses on the North Shore of Chicago, Evanston Golf Club was designed by Donald Ross nearly a century ago. Stretching 6,793 yards, the par-70 Evanston Golf Club last held the Windon Memorial in 2013.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Windon Memorial Classic, named after Bernie Windon who was a major proponent to bring major collegiate golf to the Chicagoland area, is in its 20th year dating back to 1993. The tournament has been held at numerous Chicago-area courses, including last year’s at North Shore Country Club where Florida won the tournament by seven strokes. The best 54-hole team score in tournament history of 830 was set by Purde in 2015 at Lake Shore Country Club.
QUOTING COACH TYLER STITH
“We played well (in the Windon) three years ago. It’s a golf course that suits us well; parkland style, very straightforward, and a place we’ll be comfortable at. We’re looking forward to it. The field is good, but I definitely think it is a tournament we should expect to be very competitive because we’ve had success there in the past. The golf course requires accurate driving off the tee and that’s something that complements us really well. We have some good drivers of the golf ball on the team. It’s always nice to compete other Big Ten schools to measure to see where we’re at against the conference, but all those teams are very good and we’ll have to play our best to beat them.”
THE LINEUP
The Hawkeyes are currently competing for the starting five.
LAST TIME OUT
Iowa finished ninth at the loaded Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas, Texas. Benton Weinberg used two 69’s in the final two rounds to card a career-best 54-hole score of 215 to tie for 24th. Weinberg was one of only seven golfers in the 78-player field to record two rounds in the 60’s. Matthew Walker also tied for 24th place.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
- Ryoto Furuya leads the team with five rounds at or below par. Walker has four rounds at or below par followed by Alex Schaake and Sam Meuret who each have three.
- Schaake leads the team with 71.89 strokes-per-round and has the Hawkeyes’ lowest 18-hole score at 68.
- Schaake has one top-10 finish while Furuya, Meuret, and Walker each have one top-20 finish this season.
- Furuya, Schaake, Walker, and Meuret are four Hawkeyes who have competed in every tournament this season.
- Four Hawkeyes have posted season bests below 70 (Furuya, Meuret, Schaake, Weinberg).
3 HAWKEYES ON B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
- Walker competed in every event for the second consecutive year, averaging 72.73 strokes per round as a sophomore. Last fall he led the Hawkeyes with four top-10 finishes and 16 rounds at or below par. Walker tied for 19th at the 2017 Big Ten Championships and tied for 46th place at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
- Schaake played in seven tournaments last year and posted a 75.1 stroke average per 18-holes. At the 2017 Big Ten Championships, Schaake placed 29th after shooting a career-best 66 (-4).
- Simpson competed in six events, averaging 77.43 strokes-per-round with three rounds at or below par and two top-20 finishes. Simpson shined at the 2017 Big Ten Championships placing a team-best 16th place.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
Iowa added two freshmen to its 2017-18 roster. Jaewook Lee (Langley, British Columbia) and Jake Rowe (Portadown, Northern Ireland). The freshmen competed in their first collegiate tournaments as individuals in the Zach Johnson Invitational, Oct. 2-3.
WALKER IS A WORK HORSE
Junior Matthew Walker was the first true freshman to compete in every fall tournament for the Hawkeyes since Cole Peevler in 2015. Walker followed up his freshman season by competing in every event as a sophomore.
9 STRAIGHT NCAA APPEARANCES
Iowa has advanced to NCAA competition in each of the last nine seasons, joining Illinois as the only Big Ten teams selected to NCAA Regional competition in each of the last nine seasons. Iowa has advanced to the NCAA Championship finals three times in the last eight years (2009, 2011, 2012).
A PROGRAM ON THE RISE
Iowa has won 12 tournaments since 2008 and has had 15 individual medalists since 2009.The Hawkeyes have also had three All-Americans since 2008.
LOOKING AHEAD
After the Windon Memorial Classic, the Hawkeyes travel south to compete in the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate on Oct. 23-24, hosted by seventh-ranked Baylor, which will mark the end of Iowa’s 2017 fall season.
