Iowa Starts Strong in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The University of Iowa men’s golf team opened the spring season at the Puerto Rico Classic on Monday at Grand Reserve Golf Club. The Hawkeyes finished round one at 12-under par, tying for fourth place in the team standings.

Junior Max Tjoa led Iowa with a six-under-par 66, tying his career-best round. Tjoa posted five birdies in a row on the back nine before adding two more birdies on the front to finish sitting in a tie for second place individually.

Sophomore Ryan Shellberg followed closely with a career-best five-under-par 67, highlighted by five birdies on the day and zero bogeys. Shellberg sits tied for eighth after the opening round.

Redshirt freshman Grant Gudgel continued strong play for Iowa with a four-under-par 68, carding three birdies on the front nine and two on the back. Gudgel sits in 17th heading into round two.

Freshman Bennett Warren and sophomore Chance Rinkol each posted opening-round three-over-par 75s, while redshirt freshman Jack McCarty competed individually for the Hawkeyes with a one-over-par 73.

Iowa is tied with multiple ranked opponents, including No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 32 Georgia, and sits ahead of No. 37 Purdue, No. 29 Louisville, and Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Minnesota.

HAWKEYE SCORECARD

T4/15	Team	276 (-12)
2	Max Tjoa	66 (-6)
8	Ryan Shellberg	67 (-5)
17	Grant Gudgel	68 (-4)
T79	Bennett Warren	75 (+3)
T79	Chance Rinkol	75 (+3)

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH TYLER STITH
“Positive start today from the team. I’m proud of how we were ready to play and the way we responded to adversity. I’m very happy for Ryan. He had an injury setback in the fall and didn’t play much. He worked extremely hard during off-season and earned today’s performance.”

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action for round two on Tuesday at Grand Reserve Golf Club.