After a tremendous first day at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, Iowa State men’s golf responded with a disappointing conclusion to the tournament. The Cyclones shot 291 (+3) on the day, which dropped them all the way down to a 16th place finish.

Lachlan Barker had another impressive round for the Cyclones in what was an otherwise disappointing finish. San Diego State continued their excellence, winning the tournament by 13 strokes. Here are some notables from the second and final day in action in Chandler, Arizona for the Cyclones. 

Success on Par 3s

Iowa State’s success on Par 3s throughout the two days kept them in the running, as they otherwise struggled on Par 4s and Par 5s. The team had an average score of 3.03 (+2 overall) on said holes, tied for fifth best in the field.

Elsewhere, they finished 22nd on Par 4s (+26) and 18th on Par 5s (-5). ISU remained in the top five of the tournament with 182 pars, a lot of which came on those Par 3s. They clearly failed to capitalize on the longer holes as well, as they were one of just four teams without an eagle on the week and also finished tied for 18th in birdies with 43.

Barker picks up where he left off

Lachlan Barker was the best golfer all tournament long for ISU and it wasn’t particularly close. He shot a 69 on the day, eventually finishing in a tie for fifth place. Barker ended at -11 overall, just two shots off Long Beach State’s Isaac Rodea.

It was Barker’s best finish of the season, one in which he had high aspirations for. While the team finish was uninspiring, it’s good to see Barker get back on track after a poor finish in South Carolina.

Everyone else struggles 

Excluding Barker, no one else on the team finished inside the top 65, reminiscent of last week’s The Hootie where it was Nate Vance who helped carry the team. Speaking of Vance, he in particular had troubles continuing his solid play as of late. Vance shot 76 (+4) on the day, dropping him from a tie for 26th all the way down to a tied for 65th finish. 

Luke Gutschewski and Josh Hetherington, both of whom were tied for 56th heading into the day, finished tied for 65th and tied for 89th, respectively. Frank Lindwall shot a final round 76, as he finished last out of the 128 golfers in the event. It’s the second straight event in which a Cyclone finished last, with it being Jake Slocum last tournament. In essence, every Cyclone golfer moved down on the leaderboard after the final round. 

While it was a promising start to the event on Monday, Tuesday’s finish left a lot to be desired for the Cyclones. They wrap things up for the regular season in a two-day event beginning April 16th. The Hawkeye Invitational is located in Iowa City, just before the guys head down to Texas a week later for the Big 12 Championship.