Iowa State men’s golf could not capitalize on momentum from the previous outing as the team placed eighth out of 14 teams.

The Cyclones came back from an underwhelming round one, but it wasn’t enough to push far up the rankings. Inconsistency was a problem in the past, and it came around early in the week.

Rebound from round one

The Cyclones finished in eighth place out of 14 teams competing at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational. Fellow Big 12 program Kansas State finished third.  

Iowa State scored 292 as a team in the first round. The Cyclones improved on that score in the second round with a team total of 283. After day one of the Tiger Collegiate Invitational, the Cyclones sat in ninth place.  

The Cyclones once again shot a 283 as a team in the third round, and they were able to climb to eighth place by the end of the invitational.  

The Cyclones showed the ability to improve on their first-round performance. Their 292 score failed to set the tone for the rest of the invitational. 

Cyclones fall out of the top-20 individually 

The Tiger Collegiate Invitational was dominated by Illinois, who had three players in the top-five of individual scoring. It made sense that the team that won the invitational by 28 would have the most players place high individually.  

The Cyclones had two players in the top-10 of the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, and it propelled them to a nice team finish. The Tiger Collegiate Invitational was not the same, and the team scoring reflected that.  

After putting two players in the top-10 of a 21-team tournament, the Cyclones were unable to place anyone in the top-20 of a 14-team tournament. Trying to build consistency and stack good performances on top of each other has been a theme for Iowa State this season.  

Iowa State finishing in the bottom half of teams in Missouri Tuesday was an example of the inconsistency from the team.

The Cyclones’ most consistent player, Luke Gutschewski, placed the highest of any Cyclone, finishing in a tie for 21st place with an overall score of 210.  

Nate Vance shows resilience in the second and third rounds

Nate Vance did not start the Tiger Collegiate Invitational the way he wanted to. The redshirt senior from Marshalltown, Iowa, shot a 77 in the first round. After that, Vance started to heat up.  

Vance’s response to a 77 in the first round was a 72 in the second round and a 69 in the third round, highlighted by an eagle on hole 10 in round three. Vance shot three-under-par over the final two rounds and climbed 15 spots individually over the final 36 holes to finish in a tie for 47th place. 

Vance and Gutschewski shot eagles on hole 10, while Paul Beauvy and Zach May shot eagles on hole 15.  

The Cyclones will conclude their regular season with the Hawkeye Invitational starting Saturday and concluding Sunday.