IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa redshirt seniors Alex Schaake and Benton Weinberg, as well as junior Gonzalo Leal Montero were named to the 2021 Big Ten Men’s Golfers to Watch List. This the second consecutive season that the three have been named Big Ten Preseason Honorees.
Conference honors are nothing new to Schaake, who was the 2019 Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Year. He is a two-time unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree, and in 2019 won the Les Bolstad Award, which is presented to the player with the lowest stroke average in the conference. He is one of only two Hawkeyes (Steven Ihm) to earn three All-Big Ten postseason honors. The Omaha, Nebraska, native was also an All-Big Ten second team selection in 2018. Last spring, he led Iowa in rounds at or below par (4) and 18-hole stroke average (71.2) before the NCAA canceled the season due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Weinberg was a Division I PING All-Midwest Region and All-Big Ten second team selection in 2019. He earned second team All-Big Ten honors and at the Hawkeye Invitational carded the third lowest 18-hole score in program history (64). His 54-hole score of 204 is also the third lowest score in school history. Weinberg also recorded the best individual finish for Iowa at the NCAA regionals that season, with a 54-hole score of 214 (+1).He competed in all three tournaments during the shortened 2020 season, recording two rounds at or below par with a 73.3 18-hole stroke average.
Montero was a second team All-Big Ten honoree last spring. Along with Schaake, he led the team in rounds at or below par (4). The Seville, Spain native competed in all three tournaments and recorded an 18-hole stroke average of 71.8. In 2019, he finished 11th at the Big Ten Championships – Iowa’s best individual finish – with a three-round total of 220 (+10).
Earlier this month, Montero won the Copa Andalucia Masculina, a World Amateur Golf Rankings event that features some of the top players from Spain and Europe. Montero finished 16-under, six strokes ahead of runner-up Quim Vidal Mora.
The Hawkeyes open their spring season at the Big Ten Match Play, Feb. 5-6, in Palm Coast, Florida.