The ISU men’s golf team has confidence on its side heading into the Big Four Championship.

After finishing second, third and fourth in its first three tournaments, the squad is looking for a first place trophy.

To get it, they will need to defeat fellow in-state rivals Iowa, Drake and the University of Northern Iowa.

“We have seen Drake and UNI twice and are 2-0 against them,” said head coach Jay Horton, who is in his fourth year with the team. “This is the only time we will see Iowa all year because they are in a different district than we are.

“Our confidence level has risen and we are shooting lower scores.”

One of the Cyclones’ lowest individual scores was recorded Tuesday when true freshman Drew Dalziel, in only his second meet, won the Purina Classic.

His three-round total of 205 broke the school record for a 54-hole event.

Dalziel admits he didn’t see it coming and he now knows what he is capable of.

“I felt like I couldn’t miss a fairway or a green,” Dalziel said. “When I looked at putts, I felt like all of them were going to go in. This is by far the best tournament I have ever played. I guess my teammates will expect a lot more out of me now.”

Junior Jeremy Lyons, who said the field at the Purina Classic was one of the best they’ll see this fall, said Dalziel has definitely showed him what he’s made of.

“I knew we had a good freshman class coming in,” Lyons said. “But I didn’t expect one of them to win the third tournament of the year with the best field.”

Heading into the mid-way point in the fall season, Horton likes the way his team has improved through the first three tournaments.

“We have improved every meet so far, going from plus-24 to plus-16 and down to plus-1 over in our last three meets,” he said. “We are learning to play with some of the best in the country and everyone is confident in each other.”

Even though Lyons grew up in Wisconsin, he still has been in Ames long enough to know and understand what is at stake this weekend.

“I pretty much consider myself an Iowan,” he said. “I have been a Cyclone for four years and know a little bit about what this rivalry means. It is pretty big.”

Saturday’s event will take place at Hunters Ridge golf course in Marion.