On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the Iowa State men’s and women’s golf teams will be playing in their final Big Eight Golf Tournaments.

The men will be playing in Hutchinson, Kan., while the women will be playing in our backyard.

Unfortunately it won’t be at Veenker, but in Des Moines at the newly opened Glen Oaks Golf and Country Club.

The women go into the tournament with an actual shot to win the whole thing.

Head Coach Julie Manning told me that she feels really good going into the tournament, and I would tend to agree.

Iowa State finds its own top three golfers among the top 10 for the conference.

This information, which didn’t show any freshman golfers, saw senior Beth Bader as the top golfer in the conference, followed closely by Missouri’s Kristen Samp.

Senior Holly Duncan was the third best golfer as of the fall break, less than one half of a stroke per round behind Bader.

Sophomore Cathy Matthews also finds herself in the top 10, with her eighth place overall ranking.

But that isn’t all. The Cyclones also saw the rest of its playing roster finish in the top half of the Big Eight players.

Of the 42 players listed in the Big Eight media guide, the Cyclones saw sophomore Fiona Watson, sophomore Sara Linneman and junior Gwynn Shepherd all finish above 21st in the conference.

Each of the golfers has seen considerable time on the course as a varsity member, so Iowa State will be able to depend upon them to match the basketball performance this past March.

Among the top competitors in the tournament is Samp, a senior from Missouri, who is just shy of Bader’s fall pace.

Bader managed to shoot 77.6 shots per round during the fall, while Samp shot 77.8 strokes.

Missouri’s support will come from Letitia Moses, a freshman golfer who has managed to put up high finishes throughout her freshman season.

The numbers available through the media guide failed to show any statistics for any of the golfers who are freshmen.

Before I conclude the women’s tournament, let me pull out my healthy predictions for the Cyclone women and the rest of the Big Eight at the tournament.

Iowa State will carry home the team title by a narrow margin over the Cowgirls.

Oklahoma will take third place, followed by Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas St., Kansas and Colorado.

Iowa State seems to have the best balance of any team in the Big Eight conference.

Now off to Hutchinson, Kan.

Iowa State will be heading to the Jayhawk state in an attempt to claim the last Big Eight title.

But unfortunately the always powerful Oklahoma Sooners should carry home the hardware.

The Cowboys, who have dominated the tournament over the past few years, have two solid seniors leading the way.

Iowa State will be a second or third place team now that it has gotten over the rough spots and has begun to play better.

Jason Knutzon and Travis Korver will be in the individual title race, but will fall short of the senior Cowboy duo of Kris Cox and Trip Kuehne.

Iowa State players will see Kansas St., Oklahoma and Nebraska all breathing down their necks for the runner-up prize.

Stay tuned next week for another new topic, and everyone have a very safe Veishea.