Iowa State ended Day 1 at -8 overall across nearly two rounds of action on Monday at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. The second round didn’t get fully finished due to darkness.

The Cyclones sit in eighth place after being tied for fifth after the first round.

San Diego State dominated the competition throughout the day, as they shot -16 on the first 18 holes. They finished the day at -24, a nine stroke lead over Long Beach State. Here are some things to take away from the first day in Arizona for the Cyclones. 

Lachlan Barker bounces back in a big way

In the lead up to the event, it was crucial for Barker getting back on track in Chandler this week. He did just that by shooting a 68 (-4) in the first round and -4 in the second round as well.

His -8 sits in a tie for second heading into Tuesday’s action. Barker has a real chance at winning the event, as he sits just two strokes off the lead of Long Beach State’s Isaac Rodea.

He finished hot with three birdies in the final six holes of the night.

Can never go wrong with pars

The team didn’t get an eagle and were actually in the bottom half of the field in terms of birdies, but they were tied for third in the field in pars. The ability to stay afloat and get pars has been crucial to keeping them in the top 10.

Luke Gutschewski led the team with 28 pars on the day, tied for second. He was followed by Nate Vance’s 26 pars, respectively.

Barker’s 10 birdies propelled him to his current place in the standings, just one off of the most in the tournament thus far.

Fifth golfer struggling mightily again

For the second consecutive week, the Cyclones haven’t gotten any production out of their fifth golfer.

At The Hootie, it was redshirt freshman Jake Slocum who failed to move up on the leaderboard. So far in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, Frank Lindwall has been the same. 

While the fifth golfer doesn’t calculate into the team score, it’d be ideal for a better result. If the results remain the same, it would be the second consecutive event in which a Cyclone finished last. While Lindwall shot +18 on the day, he did manage to shoot under par (-1) in the second round after an opening round score of 91.

Things start back up at 7:30 a.m. MST Tuesday morning in Chandler. After finishing the final few holes of the second round, they will immediately begin the third and final round to conclude the tournament.

The Cyclones sit in a good spot, just seven strokes off second place.