Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Puerto Rico Results Final
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico —The University of Iowa men’s golf team had three individuals — freshman Gonzalo Leal Montero, junior Alex Schaake, and senior Matthew Walker — fire under par in the final round of the Puerto Rico Classic at the par-72 River Course at the Rio Mar Country Club on Tuesday.
The Hawkeyes moved up four spots in the final round to finish seven in the 15-team field and earn their fifth top-10 finish of the season. The 40th-ranked Hawkeyes finished eight strokes ahead of No. 5 Alabama and three strokes ahead of No. 31 Marquette.
Iowa shot its best round of the tournament, a 281 (-7), in the third round to finish seventh with a 54-hole score of 871 (+7). Iowa’s 281 was the fourth lowest 18-hole team score on Tuesday, just one stroke behind No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 21 Georgia, and Purdue.
No. 4 Georgia Tech and No. 21 Georgia claimed co-champion honors with a three-round score of 848 (-16). No. 13 Oklahoma finished in third with a score of 852 (-12).
In round three, Leal Montero surged 22 spots on the individual leaderboard after firing six birdies with five on the back nine. He shot par or better on 17 holes to finish the round with a career tying low round of 67 (-5), his seventh round at or below par this season. The freshman earned his first top individual finish for the Hawkeyes, tying 15th with a 54-hole score of 214 (-2). It is his third top-20 finish of the season.
Walker carded his sixth round at or below par this season with a third-round score of 70 (-2). He finished tied for 30th after moving up 12 spots on the individual leaderboard in the final round.
Schaake soared 17 spots in the final round on the individual leaderboard with his team leading 11th round at or below par. He fired five birdies for an 18-hole score of 68 (-4), tying 41st with a three-round score 220 (+4).
Junior Benton Weinberg finished tied 36th with a 54-hole score of 219 (+3). Sophomore Jake Rowe finished 73rd with a three-round score of 238 (+22).
IOWA SCORECARD
| 7 | Iowa | 296 | 294 | 281 | +7 | 871 |
| T-15 | Gonzalo Leal Montero | 72 | 75 | 67 | -2 | 214 |
| T-30 | Matthew Walker | 75 | 73 | 70 | +2 | 218 |
| T-36 | Benton Weinberg | 69 | 74 | 76 | +3 | 219 |
| T-41 | Alex Schaake | 80 | 72 | 68 | +4 | 220 |
| 73 | Jake Rowe | 83 | 78 | 77 | +22 | 238 |
COACH STITH’S COMMENTS
“The guys were determined to finish the tournament strong. We putted much better today which helped our confidence.”
“Gonzalo started strong and took advantage of the calm conditions. Scoring became more difficult later in the round, but his short game was really good.”
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will be on a short break before returning to action March 4-5, at Bluffton, South Carolina, for the Colleton River Collegiate.
