Iowa State men’s golf is stuck in the middle of the pack after finishing the opening day of the Fighting Irish Classic in ninth out of 16 teams on Sunday. 

After day one of this event, sophomore Luke Gutschewski and freshman Paul Beauvy lead the team in the 36 holes played on Sunday. Gutschewski and the French native freshman Beauvy shot 70 and 66 and combined for a 136 total. The two underclassmen did, well knocking in six birdies in both of their second rounds.  

Gutschewski seems to be the guy driving the bus for the Cyclones after day one. After participating and doing very well in the U.S. Amateur Open this past summer, Gutschewski is carrying that momentum into his sophomore campaign.  

With a young roster, it is going to take an underclassman to fill a heavier void this year and Gutschewski seems to be ready for that challenge.  

It goes without saying Sunday was a strong performance from the freshman in the starting lineup. Both Paul Beauvy and Kyo Morishita while not only trying to adjust to college life, were key contributors to the Cyclones Sunday.  

“Things are a bit easier in college. My schedule academically is the same, so I’m used to that part. In prep school, there’s like 100 kids practicing at once so it’s nice to have more individual practice and attention from coaches,” Morishita said. 

Before Iowa State, Morishita attended IMG Academy in Orlando, and it seems that all that prep school preparation is finally paying off. Beauvy alongside Gutschewski, shot a 66 in his collegiate debut. Head Coach Andrew Tank mentioned the level of excitement he had to have a younger roster.  

“We don’t have anyone on the roster pre-COVID, nobody has been here more than four semesters, but I think they’re all excited to put their stamp on the program,” Tank said. 

This optimistic mentality is what led the Cyclones newcomers to have a less flustered college debut and overall help the team.  

Redshirt senior and Marshalltown, Iowa, native, Nate Vance scored 156 after 36 holes and finished 55th overall. Junior Lukas Pany shot 156 on the day overall and finished 83rd overall.

Vance had a slow start to the day with a 75 on the first 18 but then cleaned it up on the last 18 logging in a 69. Pany needs higher production as well if the Cyclones want to improve their overall performance on Monday. Pany logged in a 79 and 77 on the day.

He will need to clean some things up before Monday morning’s round. With higher production from upperclassmen, the Cyclones can put themselves in a position to improve drastically from last year at this same venue where they finished in 13th place.