IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior Mac McClear was named Co-Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week, the league office announced on Wednesday. McClear shares the honor with Indiana’s Drew Salyers after winning the Iowa Fall Classic in dominant fashion this week at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course.
McClear led the tournament wire-to-wire and was the only golfer to finish below par after 54 holes at 214 (-2). The former Big Ten Champion outpaced the field by three strokes to help lift the Hawkeyes to a team championship at the home event. McClear’s 12 birdies tied for the most in the field at the Iowa Fall Classic, as did his 3.08 stroke average on par threes and 4.97 average on par fives.
The medalist honors are the third of McClear’s collegiate career after previously winning the Spartan Collegiate and the Big Ten Championships in 2021. He was also the champion at the Joliet Amateur and co-medalist a local US Open qualifier this summer.
McClear has finished in the top 25 on the leaderboard in each of Iowa’s four events this fall and has placed inside the top five in each of the past two weeks.
The Big Ten weekly honor is the second of McClear’s career. He was last honored on March 11, 2021, for his win at the Spartan Collegiate, where he shot 851 (-13). McClear is the first Hawkeye to earn Big Ten Golfer of the Week since Alex Schaake on April 28, 2021.
Conference accolades are nothing new for McClear, who was named a Big Ten Player to Watch on Aug. 31 and earned second team All-Big Ten honors last season. In 2021, McClear was the only unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection and was named to the All-Big Ten Championships team after winning the fourth individual conference title in program history.
McClear and the Hawkeyes return to action this week at the Williams Cup in Wilmington, North Carolina. Play at Eagle Point Golf Club tees off on Friday and continues through Sunday.