Interim men’s golf coach Jay Horton is stepping into a tough, yet exciting situation.

He will attempt to lead a young Cyclone team to great success in the upcoming season.

“There is a lot of young talent on this squad,” Horton said.

There are four redshirts and seven true freshmen on this year’s team.

Horton was hired this summer to assist former coach Jamie Bermel. Just before the practice season started, he was promoted to interim head coach after Bermel, who led Iowa State to a NCAA regional appearance last spring, took a job at Colorado State.

“This is a dream job for me, being from Ames and everything,” Horton said.

Horton has spent the last several years as a club pro, and before that, he competed on the PGA tour.

He believes the experience he has gained as a player and instructor makes him more than qualified for the job.

“Hopefully, this interim label turns out to be something permanent,” he said.

Last year’s Cyclone squad was very senior-laden.

The team will especially miss the leadership of Jason Knutson, who graduated last year.

With last year’s departures, a lot of new faces will be on the links this fall.

Redshirt junior Aaron Patton is the only Cyclone competing in the Hawkeye Invitational this weekend who has more than a year of experience.

Rounding out the team this weekend will be freshmen Matt Gatchel, Kevin Oswald, Mark Weghorst and Jeremy Lyons, all of whom are competing in their first college tournament.

“There’s no clear cut leader yet. … It should be really competitive, with eight to nine different golfers competing all year,” Horton said.

Gatchel, from nearby Huxley, won the Iowa State Amateur this summer, and Josh Clay qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

Mark Weghorst won the Briarwood Amateur in Ankeny late this summer.

“I am extremely excited for the season to start. The more experience, the better the results will be,” Horton said.

Eighteen teams from around the Midwest will compete in the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa.

Drake University and the University of Northern Iowa also will travel to Iowa City for the tournament.

Some of the other schools competing are Ball State, Kent State, Indiana, Kentucky and last year’s winner the University of Wisconsin.

Horton is not sure exactly what to expect.

“This is new to us all,” he said.