University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Heads to Iowa to Close Regular Season
4/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
MINNEAPOLIS -- Once again, the University of Minnesota men's golf team will cap off the regular season at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa, April 13-14.
This will be the seventh consecutive year that the Gophers have closed out the regular season at the tournament. The team's best performance was a third place finish out of 12 teams, in 2013-2014 season.
Originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the dates of the tournament have been changed due to possible inclement weather in Iowa City. The tournament will now tee-off on Friday at 1:30 p.m. with a shotgun start. The second and third rounds will be played consecutively on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
As the final regular season tournament, the Gophers are looking for a performance that puts together everything they've been working on this spring, according to associate head coach Justin Smith.
"We've been talking to the guys about how nothing changes," Smith said. "This spring, we've been playing well and climbing the ladder. Now it's about getting our game to peak at the right time, and to do that, they just need to keep playing the way they've been playing.
"Being in Minnesota, we have to travel most of the year. We play a big national schedule, and we take pride in that. But this tournament gives us a chance to play at Big Ten school in the area, as well as supporting Iowa's Head Coach Taylor Stith, who a former assistant coach at Minnesota. Any time Iowa hosts, Minnesota needs to be a part of that rivalry."
The Gophers are coming off a tie for 16th at The Goodwin, a tournament with a field of 26 teams. Sophomore Thomas Longbella led the team at The Goodwin, while freshman Angus Flanagan was the team's top finisher in the previous two tournaments, the Schenkel Invitational and the Tiger Invitational.
The field: Minnesota will be competing against host-school Iowa, Arkansas State, Drake, DePaul, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, South Dakota State and UMKC.
The course: The Finkbine Golf Course plays at 7,205 yards and is par 72. It is the home golf course of Iowa. This will be the first tournament of the spring that the Gophers have played close to home.
"Everyone has a tough winter, so it'll be interesting to see the course," Smith said. "It's a course that suits our team well--fairly demanding off the tee, with smaller greens. There's no part of this course that we don't know, so it comes down to execution. Our guys will formulate a great plan, and we're excited to be back on familiar ground."
The travel squad: Riley Johnson, Thomas Longbella, Rúnar Arnorsson, Angus Flanagan, Peter Jones and Evan Long will travel to Iowa.
Players Mentioned
