It was another disappointing result for Iowa State men’s golf, as just one regular season event now remains. The team finished 16th in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, located in Arizona.

As the team now turns to finishing the season strong, let’s look at some notable tidbits from the week in Chandler.

Better start

A key to this week’s Wyoming Cowboy Classic was getting off to a quick start. The team did just that, as they ended the first day of action in eighth place of 25 teams. They were just seven strokes behind second place, leaving them within reaching distance of a top five finish.

In particular, the golfers behind senior Lachlan Barker helped put in scores that were good enough to keep them competitive. Nate Vance shot a 71 in the opening round with Luke Gutschewski and Josh Hetherington each shooting a 73. Vance and Hetherington’s scores got progressively worse across the three rounds, the main reason for the team’s score taking a dip. 

Par five struggles continue

In these tournaments and golf in general, capitalizing on long Par fives is crucial to a good score. Getting birdies and avoiding bogeys altogether on said holes is ideal and necessary.

Going on the last two tournaments now, and Iowa State has failed to score well on Par fives. In The Hootie in South Carolina, the team averaged a score of 4.96 (-3) on Par fives. While not awful by any means, especially being under par, it ranked 14th in the field, second to last. Fast forward to the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Arizona, and ISU averaged a score of 4.92 (-5). That ranked 18th of the 25 teams. It’s something that Head Coach Andrew Tank will likely address in their week off. 

Barker with season-best finish

Coming off his worst finish of the season just a week ago, Lachlan Barker responded with his best finish of the season. He finished just two strokes off the lead in the end, shooting in the 60s in all three of his rounds. 

At The Hootie, much like the rest of the team, Barker got off to a slow start with an opening round 77. This week, his opening round 68 positioned him for success for the tournament. 

The Cyclones head to Iowa City April 16 for the Hawkeye Invitational. As of Tuesday, Golfstat’s updated national rankings had Iowa State ranked 100th in the country, while Iowa came in ranked 74th. It’s an event in which the Cyclones need some confidence in before they head to the postseason.