Iowa State weathers the storm after a slow start to day one at the Prestige at PGA West
Iowa State junior golfer Tripp Kinney tracks the ball after hitting his tee shot.
February 17, 2020
On day one of the Prestige, Iowa State’s men’s golf team suffered through a sunny, 70 degree day in La Quinta, California, while Ames residents were treated to a beautiful, rainy, 30 degree day.
Weather aside, the Cyclones began their first round on the back nine. Junior Lachlan Barker started out with a double bogey on hole 10. Senior Sam Vincent was quickly in a hole with five over par through his first six holes.
Tripp Kinney started out slow as well, as he was three over par through his first four holes. At one point, Iowa State sat in last place and it was looking bleak for Head Coach Andrew Tank’s team, but there was still a lot of golf left to play.
The only Cyclone golfer to begin the day rolling was junior Ricky Costello. The Homer Glen, Illinois, native recorded a birdie on his first two holes. Costello’s performance kept Iowa State afloat, but the team’s performance led to a combined score of six over par through its first nine holes.
The Cyclones made up four strokes on the front nine of holes. The dominant late day performance was led by Tripp Kinney, Ricky Costello and Lachlan Barker.
The trio played nearly mistake free golf as they combined for only two bogeys and four birdies. Frank Lindwall and Sam Vincent were also playing some of their best golf of the season. They combined for only five bogeys on the last nine.
Iowa State’s dominant second half of day one puts them in a solid spot heading into day two of competition. The Cyclones currently sit tied for sixth, while trailing tournament leading Pepperdine by 11 strokes.
Individually, Ricky Costello is the highest ranked Cyclone on the leaderboard. His dominant round one from start to finish resulted in him currently being tied for ninth — only three shots off of the lead. Lindwall, Kinney and Barker are not too far behind either as they are all positioned in the top 38 heading into day two.
The Cyclones will begin their second round beginning at 7:30 a.m. They will each be paired with a golfer from San Diego State, Southern Methodist and the host school University of California, Davis.
