The ISU men’s golf team finished 17th earlier this week at the Stonebridge Invitational outside of Dallas, Texas.

The Cyclones shot two straight rounds of 302 to complete the 54-hole event at 911.

Southern Methodist, the host team for the invitational, won the competition with a final total of 851. Texas Tech, the only other Big 12 team in the field, placed fourth.

Sophomore Jeremy Lyons was first in scoring for Iowa State, shooting 222 and ending in a tie for 24th position. Greg Stephanson advanced eight spots during the final round, finishing at 230.

Corey Schultz and Kevin Oswald both hit 231 for 54 holes of play.

Clark Smith completed the ISU scoring with a three-round total of 250.

Despite high placements at the end of the tournament, head coach Jay Horton was pleased with the team’s play.

“I saw some good consistency out of the group as a whole, [but] we just made some big numbers,” he said. “Where we are right now, I’d say, is above average.”

The Stonebridge, which was created by legendary course designer Pete Dye, was the host of the 1994 NCAA championship.

It provided a tough test for everyone participating.

Despite the difficulty of the course and the field of teams, Lyons thought that the ISU squad could have had a better showing.

“I didn’t think I played very well this tournament,” he said. “It was just one of those weeks that we weren’t playing together.”

The Cardinal and Gold came off of a three-week layoff when they left the first tee Monday. However, Lyons said there wasn’t any rust they needed to get rid of.

“I didn’t find it a problem, because we have the whole summer off and [then we] come right back and play in tournaments,” he said. “I think we were as ready as we could be.”

The Cyclone’s success in upcoming tournaments may rely on Lyons, who placed first in scoring for the Cyclones in two tournaments this season.

“The guys on the team know that they can rely on him to shoot good scores,” Horton said. “He has the mental toughness to go out and shoot a good round. That says a lot for his character.”

Lyons, who is playing after redshirting last year, knows that others on the team have a similar attitude to their role on the squad.

“I think I could be a leader on the team,” he said. “I have confidence in myself that I can be the best player on this team, but there are three or four players that have that same mind set.”

The Cyclones will face other Iowa universities in their next event, the Big 4 Championship.

Horton enjoys the tournament, but says he would like to improve from the fourth-place finish the Cyclones have experienced the past couple of years.

“It’s something that’s kind of neat and special for the [players], but it’s probably more exciting for me than for the rest of the team,” he said. “It’s definitely a tournament where I want to get out of the cellar.”

After battling tough fields in the first two competitions of the year, Horton said he expects some low scores out of his players at their next tournament.

The Big 4 Championship will be played on Oct. 15 in Cedar Rapids.