The Iowa State men’s golf team is currently competing in its first meet of the spring season. The Cyclones have had nearly a three-month layoff since they last competed in the Big 12 Match Play event in October. They now traveled to Tucson, Arizona to play in the Arizona Intercollegiate tournament, hosted by the University of Arizona at its home course is Sewailo Golf Club.

Head coach Andrew Tank had his team ready to play right out the gate, with a lot of red numbers on the scorecard early.

The duo of junior Lachlan Barker and senior Tripp Kinney both birdied two of the first five holes, putting Iowa State in position for a big day. Kinney would then go through a tough stretch, as he dropped two strokes from holes six through nine.

The team’s remaining contributors of Ricky Costello, Frank Lindwall, and Sam Vincent also put together a formidable front nine. Overall as a team, Barker and company shot two over par on the front nine.

The back nine was much of the same story for the Cyclones. There were not many major mistakes for the team as there were only 11 holes that they recorded a bogey. The difference in the back nine, was the red numbers. Coach Tank’s team only recorded four birdies, although the Cyclones were still in striking distance. As a team they shot nine over par on the first 18 holes.

Iowa State began its second round of the day, but this time they started from hole 10 for the back nine. This was when it began to unravel, as the day grew older bigger numbers began to be put on the scorecard. As an overall team the Cyclones dropped 18 strokes on the first nine holes of their second round.

Uncharacteristically, Tripp Kinney dropped four shots himself, as he double bogeyed holes 10 and 11. Lachlan Barker however continued his strong day, as he went even par through holes 18 to 10.

He moved to one under on the day. Vincent would have the biggest hiccup through this portion of the day for the Cyclones, as he added seven strokes over par to Iowa State’s team total.

As Tank and his team traveled back to the first tee, they were able to salvage the day. They were not able to completely finish their second round of the day, as three golfers were only able to complete hole seven. Through the Cyclone’s last portion of their long day, they shot even par. They now sit at 14 shots over par for the competition.

The host team, Arizona, sits atop the leaderboard at 10 under par. It has a commanding lead as Baylor sits in second place at only one under par. Iowa State is currently tied for ninth as it head into day two of competition. 

The Cyclones will look to finish the competition out strong, as tomorrow’s forecast in Tucson is a 68 degree day of sunny weather with an expected eight mile per hour wind.