The ISU men’s golf team will tee-up for its fourth tournament Monday at the Firestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

The team will be without its top player, Scott Fernandez, for the second week in a row as he competes representing his home country of Spain in the World Armature.

Redshirt freshman Collin Foster said the team, which finished seventh last week at the Rees Jones Intercollegiate, will try to improve and finish high on the leaderboard.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I think it’s time for that to start showing,” Foster said.

After last week’s low finish, coach Andrew Tank’s message was to learn from mistakes made during the tournament.

“[We need] to get five guys playing well, not just one or two,” Tank said. “I think that is what has held our team score back.”

Tank has carefully selected five starters this week to best fill Fernandez’s absence. This tournament’s players for Iowa State include Collin Foster, Borja Virto, Zach Steffen, Sam Daley and Blake Waller.

After meeting with coaching staff following last week’s competition, players have been practicing individually to prepare for Firestone.

“My swing’s a little steep right now,” Foster said. “We’ve been working on getting it a little bit shallower.”

Senior Borja Virto, who left last week’s tournament as Iowa State’s top performer, was left unsatisfied with his driving from the tee box.

He has been considering replacing his club with a new driver and has been working on his short game during the days before the match.

“I’ve been practicing really hard,” Virto said. “If I can get my driver straight… I should be able to shoot a low score.”

Firestone Country Club’s north course should prove to be a challenge for the ISU golfers.

The par 72 championship-caliber course has been the site of former World Series of Golf matches and is the current home of the World Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

“We need all five guys to finish in the top 20 to really have a chance to be in contention as a team,” Tank said.

The Firestone Invitational will conclude on Tuesday and can be followed in real time at Golfstat.com.