TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Iowa men’s golf team improved to 12th place to close out play at Inverness Golf Club on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes finished 891 (+39) at the 54-hole Inverness Intercollegiate.
Iowa’s third round of 290 (+6) tied for seventh on the day in the loaded 16-team field, which included 12 Golfstat top-50 ranked squads. Teams concluded the final holes of the second round on Tuesday before playing continuously into Round Three, after Monday’s action was called early due to weather delays.
Senior Mac McClear finished strong, posting a two-under par third round of 69 (-2) to tie for 20th on the leaderboard at 219 (+6) through 54 holes. McClear has two top-25 finishes in as many events this fall after tying for 21st at the Fighting Irish Classic on Sept. 5.
The 2021 Big Ten Champion drilled five birdies in the third round and shot 33 (-3) on the course’s back nine. McClear started the round with a pair of birdies on holes No. 14 and 15 and eventually closed out the day with a birdie on No. 13. He led the Hawkeyes with nine birdies in the tournament.
Finishing close behind was senior Garrett Tighe, who posted a 221 (+8) score to tie for 33rd at the event. Tighe shot 73 (+2) in the third round after finishing with a pair of 74 (+3) scores in the opening two rounds.
Tighe finished with six birdies on the week, three of which came on Tuesday, including a birdie to close out the second round on hole No. 14.
The Hawkeyes finished ahead of ranked teams No. 34 Charlotte and No. 10 Washington.
No. 8 Texas Tech claimed the team championship, defending its 2019 title at Inverness with an 853 (+1) team total. The Red Raiders finished ahead of No. 11 Georgia Tech (second), No. 1 Oklahoma (third), and numerous other top collegiate programs. Georgia Tech’s No. 27 ranked sophomore Christo Lemprecht was the individual medalist.
IOWA SCORECARD
| 12 | TEAM | 301 | 300 | 290 | +39 | 891 |
| T-20 | Mac McClear | 77 | 73 | 69 | +6 | 219 |
| T-33 | Garrett Tighe | 74 | 74 | 73 | +8 | 221 |
| T-59 | Ronan Kleu | 73 | 79 | 75 | +14 | 227 |
| T-69 | Ian Meyer | 77 | 80 | 73 | +17 | 230 |
| T-73 | Gonzalo Leal Montero | 79 | 74 | 78 | +18 | 231 |
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Iowa’s two eagles tie Texas Tech for the tournament high; sophomore Ian Meyer and fifth-year senior Gonzalo Leal Montero each eagled hole No. 13 in the third round.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH TYLER STITH
“Much better round by the team in our third round. We gave ourselves more chances and made fewer mistakes.”
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes host the Iowa Fall Classic, Oct. 16-17, at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course in Riverside, Iowa.