24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | NCAA Austin Regional Rd. 1 Results
AUSTIN, Texas — University of Iowa junior Benton Weinberg shot a two-under par 69 to lead the 42nd-ranked Hawkeyes in the first round of the NCAA Austin Regional on Monday at the par-71 Texas Golf Club. Iowa is tied for ninth place with a 295 (+11) first round score.
Host No. 6 Texas and No. 18 Pepperdine are tied for first place after 18 holes with a six-under-par 278. The leaders are followed by No. 30 TCU (280; -4), No. 31 Arkansas (282; -2), and No. 19 Clemson (284; E). The top five teams after the 54-hole event advance to the NCAA Championships, May 24-29.
Weinberg, a junior from Potomac, Maryland, earned second-team All-Big Ten honors during the season. His round of 69 (-2) included four birdies as he was one-under par on each nine. He birdied holes one, six, and nine on the front, and added his final birdie on 17. It marks his 11th round of the season at or below par this season. He is tied for sixth in the individual standings.
Freshman Gonzalo Leal Montero finished one-under par on the front nine after firing three birdies and adding two more on the back nine. Leal Montero’s five birdies is sixth among the individuals. He finished the first round tied for 29th with an 18-hole total of 73 (+2).
Sophomore Joe Kim shot 76 (+5) in the first round with two birdies on the back nine to tie for 46th. Junior Alex Schaake is tied for 55th with a score of six-over par 77, while senior Matthew Walker posted a 79 (+8), tying for 64th.
IOWA SCORECARD
| T-9 | Iowa | 288 | +11 | |
| T-6 | Benton Weinberg | 69 | -2 | |
| T-29 | Gonzalo Leal Montero | 73 | +2 | |
| T-46 | Joe Kim | 76 | +5 | |
| T-55 | Alex Schaake | 77 | +6 | |
| T-64 | Matthew Walker | 79 | +8 |
COACH STITH’S COMMENTS
“Benton is very accurate with his driver off the tee. He has gotten longer this year, gotten stronger, is hitting the ball farther, and has maintained his accuracy. He drives the golf ball great. You need to be able to control it off the tee to score on a golf course like this, so that sets him up to do well. Gonzalo played great golf as well. He had a few penalty shots in there, and unfortunately a double bogey on 18. He played 16 holes brilliantly and is really close. He will put together a couple of good rounds the next two days.”
“It’s tough to play three great rounds in any tournament, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Hopefully we have our average round out of the way. We know what we have to do the next couple of days, we have to be ready to go tomorrow. We need to get the other guys playing a little bit better. We have guys on this team that can post scores the next couple of days to get us in the top five.”
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes compete in round two of the Austin Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday with an 8:55 a.m. (CT) tee time. Iowa will be paired with Sam Houston State and Saint Mary’s (CA).
