THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team is set to compete in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus, Ohio at OSU Scarlet Course on April 19-21.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The 54-hole tournament tees off on Friday and concludes Sunday with 54-holes being played through three days. The tournament is set to tee off Friday at 8 a.m. (ET).
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 FIELD
The 18 team field features three top-50 ranked opponents as well as four big ten foes; Abilene Christian, Colorado State, Creighton, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, No. 45 Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Maryland, Miami (OH), Kansas City, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, No. 28 Ohio State, No. 26 Purdue, South Dakota State, and St. John’s.
THE COURSE
Located in central Columbus, being called home to the University of Ohio State’s men and women’s golf teams, The Ohio State University Golf Club hosts numerous events such as the Kepler, Lady Buckeye, AJGA, OHSAA Division I state high school championship and, most notably, the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.
Established in 1938, the Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course was rated the best collegiate facility in the country by Golf Digest. It was designed by Alister MacKenzie.
Located two miles northwest of the main campus, the Par-71 golf course carries a rating of 76.1, with a slope of 142. From the championship tees, it stretches out to 7,455 yards of rolling terrain and contains a nine-and-a-half-acre lake and winding stream that create challenging play on several holes. The large, contoured greens are surrounded by strategically placed bunkers.
In 2005 and 2006, the Scarlet course underwent a major restoration project overseen by former Buckeye legend Jack Nicklaus.
LINK UP WITH THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa men’s golf program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” Hawkeye men’s golf on Facebook and follow @IowaHawkeyeGolf on Twitter and Instagram.
THE EVENT
Entering its 52nd year, The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate has been played every year but four since 1969. The tournament is named after Robert Kepler, who was the head golf coach for Ohio State from 1938 to 1965. While the tournament has been played for over half a century only 12 different teams have claimed the team title, led by Ohio State with 25.
HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL RECAP
The Hawkeyes placed sixth out of 16 teams last time out at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Freshman Noah Kent earned his third top ten finish of the season, tying for ninth, at 4-under par. Kent played all three rounds at par or better, where he now leads the team in rounds at par or better with 12. Kent’s stroke average of 72.6 is first on the team.
Sophomore Hogan Hansen tied Kent for ninth at 4-under par. Hansen secured his first top ten finish of the season and second top-25 finish of the season. Hansen and Kent tied for Iowa’s low round of the tournament carding 68 (-3).
Competing Individually, Freshman Max Tjoa tied for 14th place carding 3-under par for the tournament. Tjoa played his first two rounds at 4-under par before a 72 (+1) on the final day of the tournament. It was Tjoa’s first top-25 finish of the season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes will travel back to Columbus, Ohio where they will compete in the Big Ten Championships on April 26-28 at Scioto Golf Club.