FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The University of Iowa men’s golf team closed out the Big Ten Championships in seventh place on Sunday, moving up two additional spots in the final round. No. 19 Illinois earned the program’s 12th conference championship in 13 seasons, while Northwestern’s David Nyfjall earned medalist honors. Illinois edged Michigan State to earn the title by a single stroke for the second consecutive year.
The Hawkeyes finished with an 895 (+31) team score, which was 17 strokes ahead of No. 27 Ohio State and one stroke behind No. 25 Purdue. Iowa’s 302 score in the final round matched third-place Maryland for the low score in the final round.
Junior Ronan Kleu wrapped up the Big Ten Championships with a strong final two rounds, matching the second lowest score of the second round on Saturday with a 69 (-3) and finishing with a third round 74 (+2) on Sunday at the demanding Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.
Kleu tied Ohio State’s No. 29 Maxwell Moldovan for 12th place, ahead of four other GolfStat Top 100 ranked golfers. The Swiss native was Iowa’s low finisher at 222 (+6) through 54 holes.
Senior Gonzalo Leal Montero was close behind, finishing with a 223 (+7) 54-hole score to tie for 14th. Leal Montero finished with a 74 (+2) on Sunday to match Kleu for the low Hawkeye score in the final round.
Junior Mac McClear tied for 21st at 225 (+9). The 2021 Big Ten champion moved up 17 spots in the final round. McClear shot scores of 75 (+3) in each of the three rounds. His consistency translated to the best par five stroke average in the field 4.58 (-5). Junior Garrett Tighe and sophomore Callum Macfie also competed for the Hawkeyes, with Tighe tying for 27th at 226 (+10).
IOWA SCORECARD
| 7 | Iowa | 300 | 293 | 302 | +31 | 895 |
| T-12 | Ronan Kleu | 79 | 69 | 74 | +6 | 222 |
| T-14 | Gonzalo Leal Montero | 75 | 74 | 74 | +7 | 223 |
| T-21 | Mac McClear | 75 | 75 | 75 | +9 | 225 |
| T-27 | Garrett Tighe | 72 | 75 | 79 | +10 | 226 |
| T-61 | Callum Macfie | 78 | 77 | 82 | +21 | 237 |
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Iowa’s 4.15 (+22) stroke average on par fours led the field at the Big Ten Championships; Macfie and Kleu each posted 4.07 (+2) par four averages to tie for the fourth-best in the field.
- Kleu also matched the second-most birdies in the field with 13; Iowa’s 40 total birdies were the third most at the event and just four behind the highest total.
- Iowa’s season draws to a close with the seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes finished third at Big Ten Match Play and second at the Hawkeye Invitational, posted nine Top 10 individual performances, including a pair of top five finishes. Iowa heads into the offseason with all eight members of the roster eligible to return next season.
