IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s golf team is set to compete in the Fighting Irish Classic in South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday at Warren Golf Course.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The 54-hole tournament tees off on Sunday and finishes on Monday with the final 18 holes. The start time for the tournament is 7:30 am (CT) on Sunday and the final round on Monday will tee off at 7 am (CT) on hole No. 1 and 10.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
You can follow this week’s action by visiting this link for live scoring. Links can be found on the men’s golf schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
THE FIELD
15 schools will be competing in the Fighting Irish Classic and will square off at Warren Golf Course. The field includes Arkansas – Little Rock, Augusta, No. 20 Duke, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, RV Louisville, RV Michigan State, RV Notre Dame, RV Purdue, Rutgers, No. 6 Tennessee, RV UCLA, and RV Washington. This marks the first time that Iowa has competed against UCLA and Washington in men’s golf since they joined the conference.
THE COURSE
One of the premier collegiate courses, Warren Golf Course was rated the No. 70 public golf course in North America by GOLF in 2021. Spanning 7,020 yards, the par 70 course has hosted numerous prominent tournaments including the 2005 NCAA Men’s Central Regional, two U.S. Men’s Amateur Championship qualifiers, two Western Men’s Amateur qualifiers, five BIG EAST Conference Golf Championships, 2010 NCAA Men’s Regional, 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
PURDUE INVITE RECAP
Sophomore Noah Kent, junior Gage Messingham, and sophomore Max Tjoa all finished inside the top-25 at the Purdue Invite. Sophomore Kent led the Hawkeyes, finishing tied for 13th overall with a total score of 216. Junior Gage Messingham and sophomore Max Tjoa both finished tied for 24th with scores of 219. Tjoa tied his career-low at 3-under par (69) in the third round. Kent also led the team on par fives, tying a tournament-high at 6-under par. The Hawkeyes finished third out of 15 schools. The Hawkeyes were tied for first on par five holes, shooting 13-under par, and they ranked second in total birdies with 47.
RECORD AT WARREN COURSE
Mac McClear was the low scorer for the Hawkeyes in the final round of the 2023 Fighting Irish Classic. McClear shot 1-under par (69) on the final day to move up 20 spots in the standings and tie for Iowa’s best finish for the tournament. McClear led the team in birdies on Monday, finishing with four. Max Tjoa shot 6-over and carded a 72 (+2) in each round to tie with McClear as the low Iowa finisher. In 2018, the Hawkeyes recorded its second-lowest 54-hole team score in program history of 833. Former Iowa golfer, Alex Schaake posted UI’s fourth-best score of 203 and Benton Weinberg recorded 205 strokes which is eighth-best in school history.
NOAH KENT EARNS RUNNER-UP AT 124TH US AMATEUR
Sophomore Noah Kent, competed in his first USGA championship, but fell in the finals of the U.S. Amateur to Jose Luis Ballester after 36 holes of match play on August 18. Kent finished the tournament as runner-up and earned invites to The Masters and the U.S. Open. Kent was looking to become the first Hawkeye to win the U.S. Amateur. Ballester came into the tournament as the world’s No. 10 ranked Amateur while Noah came in as the No. 560th ranked amateur.
3 PRESEASON ALL-B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH
Noah Kent, Josh Lundmark, and Max Tjoa were named to the 2024-25 Preseason Big Ten Players to Watch on September 12 by the conference office.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
– The Hawkeyes welcomed in four fresh faces to their program this fall. Head Coach Tyler Stith brought in three freshmen and a transfer.
– Gage Messingham, from Northern Colorado, was named the Big Sky Player of the Year in 2024 as well as first team all-conference and the all-tournament team. He had a scoring average of 72.03 with 10 rounds played in the 60s.
– Jack McCarty, a true freshman from Solon, Iowa led his team to three top-five finishes at the State Tournament. As a senior in high school, McCarty finished third in Class 3A State. His father, Sean McCarty, was a member of the Iowa men’s golf team from 1992-95.
– Chance Rinkol, a freshman from Leawood, Kansas was the 2021 Kansas 6A Individual Medalist. Rinkol posted a scoring average of 70.8 in 2023 and was ranked No. 46 in the Rolex Class in 2024. He was also the 2023 AJGA Joplin Junior Championship and Midwest PGA Junior Championship.
– Ryan Shellberg, a freshman from Prosper, Texas was tabbed No. 71 in the 2024 Rolex Class rankings. Shellberg placed second at the AJGA Mizuno Junior Championship and was a two-time all-region selection.
THE ROSTER
Hogan Hansen, Noah Kent, Josh Lundmark, Jack McCarty, Gage Messingham, Ian Meyer, Chance Rinkol, Ryan Shellberg, and Max Tjoa.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes will compete in the Fallen Oak Intercollegiate in Biloxi, Mississippi on Oct. 19-21.