Hawkeyes Head to Big Ten Championships

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team heads to Galloway, New Jersey, from April 28-30 for the Big Ten Championships at Galloway National Golf Club.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The 54-hole tournament tees off at 8 a.m. (CT) on Friday and continues with one 18-hole round each day. The second round also tees off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with round three teeing off at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
You can follow this week’s action by visiting golfstat.com for live scoring. Links can be found on the men’s golf schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

THE LINEUP
Senior Mac McClear heads the Iowa lineup, followed by sophomore Ian Meyer, junior Callum Macfie, senior Ronan Kleu and freshman Hogan Hansen.

THE FIELD
All 14 Big Ten Conference schools will square off at Galloway National Golf Club. The field includes four Golfstat Top-50 squads in No. 3 Illinois, No. 25 Ohio State, No. 28 Northwestern and No. 36 Purdue.

Other conference opponents are Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin.

THE COURSE
Spanning 7,111 yards, Galloway National Golf Club currently ranks 131st in the United States and sixth in the state of New Jersey according to Golf Digest. A Tom Fazio design, the par-71 course will play host to the Big Ten Championships for the first time this season.

MCCLEAR IS BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
McClear earned Co-Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week on April 19 for his winning-performance at the Hawkeye Invitational. Helping Iowa to a team victory, McClear shot a season-best 67 (-5) in the final round to secure medalist honors at 206 (-10) through 54 holes. The individual medalist honors are the fourth of McClear’s career, matching the second-most by a Hawkeye since at least 1961; the Big Ten weekly honor is the third of McClear’s career.

HAWKEYES AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Iowa has earned one team Big Ten Championship in program history. The Hawkeyes won the conference title in 1992 at Finkbine Golf Course, shooting a program best 72-hole score of 1139 (-13).

In nine events since 2013, Iowa has finished inside the top four on seven occasions (the tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Hawkeyes placed second in 2021, just one stroke back from perennial power Illinois.

McClear became Iowa’s fourth individual Big Ten Medalist in 2021, joining the likes of Carson Schaake (2015), Brad Klapprott (1992) and John Jacobs (1946).

ON THE LINKS
The Hawkeyes won their second team title of the season last time out, securing the 17th Hawkeye Invitational crown in program history on April 15 at Finkbine Golf Course.

• Iowa shot a season-best 29-under par (835) team score through three rounds; a third-round 276 (-12) was the best team 18-hole score for the Hawkeyes since Feb. 15, 2022, at the Puerto Rico Classic.
• McClear was the tournament medalist, shooting a season-best 206 (-10) through 54-holes; his four career medalist honors with the Hawkeyes match the second-most for an Iowa men’s golfer since at least 1961 (Lonnie Nielsen, six).
• All five members of the Hawkeye lineup posted top-15 finishes at the event; four of those golfers shot season bests for both 18-hole and 54-hole rounds.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH TYLER STITH
“The guys are excited to head out east and compete. Galloway National has a great reputation but is unknown to everyone. We are anxious to get there and get to work. Our key to success is simple: we have to play clean golf. Drive it in play, make good decisions, be efficient with our short game.  If we can do those things well as a team, we will be in contention Sunday”.

LOOKING AHEAD
NCAA Regionals take place from May 15-17, with teams and individuals vying for qualification to the NCAA Championships, May 26-31, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.