The ISU men’s golf team concluded a rough outing in its first tournament of the spring Tuesday with a 17th-place finish at the 18-team University of Central Florida/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate in Orlando, Fla.

Iowa State, which finished Monday’s opening and second rounds in 16th place, slipped to 17th during the final round of the 54-hole event with a team score of 927.

“We basically didn’t do anything well,” said ISU coach Jay Horton.

Darkness delayed part of the second round to Tuesday morning, but that didn’t slow Central Florida, which won the tournament with an 862, six strokes ahead of second-place UNC-Wilmington (868).

Freshman Chris Baker was able to start the spring the same way he ended the fall — with solid play. Baker led Iowa State with a score of 230 (74-78-78), which tied him for 67th overall. It was the third time this year that Baker led Iowa State in scoring.

“I thought I hit the ball pretty well,” Baker said. “There’s definitely room to improve, though, especially with just trying to stay mentally in the game.”

Junior Drew Dalziel carded a 232 (78-76-78), tying for 68th place.

Freshman Joe Cermak had the lowest round of any Cyclone at the tournament with a 1-over-par 73, finishing with a 233 (80-73-80). Junior Curtis Foster’s 235 (83-74-78) and sophomore Rodney Hamblin’s 242 (85-80-77) completed the scoring for the Cyclones.

One bright spot was the continued emergence of Baker and Dalziel as team leaders. Tuesday was the fourth time in six tournaments during the 2004-05 campaign that Baker and Dalziel combined to lead the Cyclones.

“We showed some signs of some good things, but we showed stuff to work on too,” Baker said.

Louisville (872), Charlotte (876) and Tulane (878) rounded out the top five in the tournament, which was largely dominated by Southern teams.

“It’s tough with such a long layoff,” Baker said. “The winters are so harsh, you can putt inside and hit wedge shots at the dome, but you can’t really get your whole game out.”

Iowa State’s next action is scheduled for Feb. 28 at the two-day Roadrunner Intercollegiate in San Antonio.