Former Hawkeye Carson Schaake moves into Greater Cedar Rapids Open top 10

MARION — Carson Schaake’s magic number was 65 on Friday afternoon at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

The former University of Iowa men’s golfer posted a 7-under-par score in the second round of the 2022 Greater Cedar Rapids Open to climb inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. Schaake’s 65 is lower than any score posted during the first round at Hunters Ridge.

“It was good,” Schaake said in a post-round interview. “I thought the pins were a little tougher today. The wind picked up a little earlier than yesterday. I just had uphill putts all day. I hit a lot of good putts. They went in today. They didn’t go in yesterday. I just stayed patient.

“I only had one bogey today, which was kind of the goal out there today. You just want to keep the big numbers out of there and limit the bogeys. If you do that, you’re going to have a lot of chances at birdie and that’s what I did today and played really well.”

Schaake shot an even-par 72 in round one of the three-day, 54-hole event on Thursday. He entered the second round of the tournament six shots off the lead.

This year’s GCRO is Schaake’s fourth. His career-best finish at the annual outing came in 2017 when he tied for third place, posting a three-round score of 13-under-par 203.

“The first time I played here (in 2017), I played really well,” Schaake said. “I finished fourth or fifth or something like that. I enjoy the course. To be honest, it doesn’t fit my eye super well. I’ve kind of come with a different strategy this year, and my swing feels good, and I’ve been playing good.”

Schaake added that he’s let pin locations, wind direction and velocity dictate his strategy this week. Pre-tournament scouting of the course and battles with his brother and fellow GCRO competitor, Alex, have also been keys to Schaake’s success.

“I had a good practice round before the tournament,” Schaake said. “I kind of learned the course a little bit. I figured out the strategy I wanted to come out here with. It’s been paying off so far.”

Schaake is tied with the likes of Texan Joel Thelen, who shot 6-under-par and 1-under-par in rounds 1 and 2, respectively.

“The plan is just the same thing as today,” Schaake said. “I’m going to stick to my strategy, just depends on the wind, how strong the wind is, if it’s raining — it rained on us a couple times today. All those factors come into play when you get to a golf course like this against a good field like we have this week.”