GALLOWAY, N.J. – University of Iowa men’s golf senior Mac McClear finished co-medalist at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, becoming the first Hawkeye to win multiple conference championships.
Iowa tied for fifth as a team at the Big Ten Championships, as round three at Galloway National Golf Club was cancelled on account of weather.
The decision to postpone Sunday’s final round came after hours of lightning delays and heavy rain. Results from the first 36 holes of action held, resulting in McClear’s fifth collegiate win. The Iowa veteran has now earned the most career individual victories by a Hawkeye since 1976 (Lonnie Nielsen, six).
McClear won his first Big Ten Championship as a sophomore in 2021, leading Iowa to a runner-up team finish at Crooked Stick Golf Club, one stroke behind perennial-power Illinois. McClear is the 16th men’s golfer to win multiple Big Ten Championships, dating back to 1920.
Other career wins include the Spartan Collegiate at Sea Island on March 9, 2021, and this season at the Iowa Fall Classic (Oct. 17, 2022) and Hawkeye Invitational (April 15, 2023).
Previous Big Ten medalists for Iowa include Carson Schaake (2015), Brad Klapprott (1992) and John Jacobs (1946).
No. 3 Illinois wins the team championship in 2023, finishing 17 strokes ahead of the field at eight-under par (560). McClear shares medalist honors with Northwestern’s Daniel Svard, shooting three-under par (139) through 36 holes.
Yesterday, McClear drilled a season-best round of 66 (-5) to surge into first place on the leaderboard. He finishes tied for the top par four stroke average in the field (3.94) and tied for second in par five stroke average (4.38) and birdies (9).
Senior Ronan Kleu was Iowa’s next-lowest finisher, tying for 20th at 147 (+5) through 36 holes. Kleu concludes the regular season with five top-25 performances through 10 events played.
IOWA SCORECARD
| T-5 | TEAM | 306 | 283 | +21 | 589 |
| T-1 | Mac McClear | 73 | 66 | -3 | 139 |
| T-20 | Ronan Kleu | 77 | 70 | +5 | 147 |
| T-31 | Hogan Hansen | 78 | 72 | +8 | 150 |
| T-43 | Callum Macfie | 78 | 75 | +11 | 153 |
| T-59 | Ian Meyer | 81 | 79 | +18 | 160 |
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH TYLER STITH
“Without a doubt, Mac’s resume speaks for itself. I promise you he’s not done. He is always working to find ways to improve. He is calm under pressure and thrives in situations where other people struggle. Mac plays hard golf courses really well, which gives him a big advantage.
The team played through some very difficult conditions and never gave up. Finishing top five is a solid result for us. The conference is as deep as I can remember. We had two guys playing their first Big Ten Championships, and we held our own.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Iowa tied No. 25 Ohio State in fifth place at 589 (+21) through 36 holes; the Hawkeyes bested No. 36 Purdue by seven strokes.
- The Hawkeyes were 13-under par (4.68) on par fives, which ranked third at the Big Ten Championships.
UP NEXT
Regional selections for the 2023 NCAA DI men’s golf championship will be announced on the Golf Channel at noon (CT) on Wednesday, May 3. Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete across six regional sites from May 15-17. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams at each regional will advance to the finals, May 26-31, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
