NAPLES, Florida — The University of Iowa men’s golf team sits in sixth place following the first round of competition at the Calusa Cup on Sunday. The inaugural 54-hole tournament is hosted Iowa at Calusa Pines Golf Club and features some of the strongest competition in collegiate golf.
Junior Gonzalo Leal Montero posted the best Hawkeye performance on Sunday, tying for sixth place among individuals with an even-par 72. Leal Montero posted two birdies on the front nine for a total of three on the day.
Sophomore Mac McClear (T-17) and senior Jake Rowe (T-25) rounded out the top 25 for Iowa. McClear, who was the individual champion at the Spartan Collegiate last time out, finished 1-over par on each nine.
No. 15 Florida leads the field by four strokes, with No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Oklahoma trailing behind in second and third place, respectively. The Hawkeyes lead Purdue, Marquette, and seventh-ranked Wake Forest.
QUOTING HEAD COACH TYLER STITH
“We started well today and then struggled in the middle stretch on holes nine through 12, which we knew going in to be a tough stretch. We dropped quite a few strokes in that stretch, but the guys battled back coming in to finish the round. We have a lot of golf yet to play and I know that we have some better rounds ahead of us.
We had to sub Benton Weinberg this morning due to a shoulder injury, but we are confident in Charles (Jahn) and know that he is ready to play. He has been gradually improving each round this spring. I know he is going to continue to gain confidence and put up some better scores the next couple of days.
Gonzalo had good control of his golf ball off the tee and shot even-par, which is a very good score today. He’s hitting the ball really well and I think if he can get a few more putts to drop in, he can shoot a couple more rounds at or below par.”
IOWA SCORECARD
| T-6 | Iowa | 297 | — | — | +9 | 297 |
| T-6 | Gonzalo Leal Montero | 72 | — | — | E | 72 |
| T-17 | Mac McClear | 74 | — | — | +2 | 74 |
| T-25 | Jake Rowe | 75 | — | — | +3 | 75 |
| T-31 | Alex Schaake | 76 | — | — | +4 | 76 |
| T-40 | Charles Jahn | 78 | — | — | +6 | 78 |
HAWKEYE NOTEABLES
- Gonzalo Leal Montero is five strokes back from the leader and just two strokes back from second place heading into round two.
- The Hawkeyes recorded 13 birdies on Sunday. Jake Rowe, Gonzalo Leal Montero, and Mac McClear led the way with three apiece.
- Charles Jahn started off the day with Iowa’s first birdie on hole No. 2; he finished his round with a birdie on the 18th hole.
- All but one team that Iowa trails on the leader board are ranked in the GolfStat top 15: No. 15 Florida (1), No. 1 Florida State (2), No. 2 Oklahoma (3), No. 42 Georgia Tech (T-4), No. 8 Texas (T-4).
- Iowa will be paired with Georgia Tech and Texas on Monday.
UP NEXT
Round two of the Calusa Cup tees off Monday at 11:30 a.m. (CT).