The Iowa State men’s golf team headed to Independence, Minnesota, for its second tournament of the season. The Gopher Invitational included 14 schools vying for the win.

The Cyclones found little success in rounds one and three but placed first in round two. They ended up finishing 10th but showed promise for their young season.

Up and down start
The tournament got off to a slow start for Iowa State, tying for last at +14 after the opening round on Sunday. Freshman Dianchao Wu led the way for the Cyclones, shooting +1 in round one.

Round two saw a huge turnaround, as Iowa State placed first in the round. The Cyclones shot a combined -8 in round two, with three golfers under par and one even.

Freshman Owen Sawyer eagled on hole 18 to finish out round two. Sophomore Zachary May was the Cyclone’s top golfer in round two, with a -4. Iowa State exited round two at +6 after a sporadic opening two rounds.

Climbing up
Monday’s third round saw regression from the prior round for Iowa State, but other schools fell hard.

The Cyclones shot +8 in round three but climbed past Miami (OH) and Utah, and tied with Northern Illinois, to place in the top 10 after all three rounds.

Junior Luke Gutschewski and Sophomore Paul Beauvy each ended round three even at par, helping Iowa State climb the leaderboard. Beauvy placed first among the Cyclones and tied for 18th among all 75 golfers at +1 overall, jumping seven spots in the final round of play.

Room to grow
Iowa State has shown promise for this young season and has shown there is still work to do. The underclassmen have proven they have what it takes to be successful, which can lead to a bright future for Iowa State men’s golf.

If the Cyclones put forth their round two effort from this tournament at every other meet this season, Iowa State could be a force to watch out for. However, if the round one result from this meet becomes the norm, the Cyclones could be in trouble.

Iowa State has the week off before a tournament close to home to finish the month of September. Iowa State heads to Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines for the Zach Johnson Invitational, hosted by Drake Sept. 25-26.