The Iowa State men’s golf team finished the fall season with a bang by taking first place at the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas.

Jason Knutzon, arguably the most consistent player on the team this year, finished as the runner-up medalist, firing an even-par 210 over 54 holes. He finished one shot behind Sam Houston State’s Brandt Kieschnick.

Knutzon’s 210 total is the second-lowest total in Cyclone history. The only better score was Matt Lewis’s 207 last year.

Overall, the Cyclones fired a total of 854, five shots ahead of North Texas.

“Jason was pretty good all week,” Head Coach Jamie Bermel said. “He finally got some putts to drop, and his ball striking was always right down the middle.”

Bermel said that Knutzon wanted the medalist honors but was probably more concerned with how the team would finish the tournament.

For the first time all season, none of the Cyclones really struggled. Jon Brackmann tied for sixth. Scott Hart, who struggles at times, came through in a tie for 14th. Lewis tied for 18th. Phil Slovitt, the sixth member of the team, tied for 24th, and Cory Braunschweig tied for 31st.

“It was clearly a team effort,” Braunschweig said. “Everyone was on the same page for a change, and it was a good win for us.”

“It is important for me as well as the kids,” Bermel said, “to be in the last group playing with a chance to win a tournament. We had the first round lead, and to keep the lead for 54 holes is really good for us.”

According to Bermel, finishing first in the last tournament of the fall season was a huge momentum-builder for the spring season, which kicks off February 20-21 in Orlando, Florida, with the Illinois State Invitational.

With the three weeks off before the Baylor meet, Bermel said the preparation was different than normal.

“I gave the kids some time off because it is a long season,” he said. “They got a couple of weekends off to freshen up and so on. Then we got back out on the course and worked on the same drills and repetition for the grind of the last meet.”

Braunschweig said the overall season was a little bit below the expectations of the players, citing the Colorado State and Oregon State tournaments as the proof. Still, he said the second-place finish at the Kansas Invitational was huge.

“For most of the tournaments, we couldn’t get everyone on the same page,” he said. “In most cases, when someone played poorly, someone else would step up. Finally, everyone played well together, and we won at Baylor.”

According to Braunschweig, the team’s immediate goal is to make it to regionals.

“Coach Bermel is really focused on what he wants us to do and thinks we can win every tournament,” he said. “We may have an edge on teams because we have five seniors on the team that have experience, and when you get to regionals, anything can happen.”

The team will take a few weeks off now before getting in gear for the spring season.

“We will begin our winter training in a few weeks,” Bermel said. “We will do some aerobics, lift some weights and so forth. Then, around Christmas, we will begin hitting again.”

Braunschweig mentioned one critical improvement for the spring season.

“Our mental game needs to improve,” Braunschweig said. “This fall, we were giving away shots to the field here and there, and it was taking a toll on the team’s results. I think discipline will be a big factor in how far we make it this spring.”