Iowa golfers impress by winning 15-team tournament

The Iowa's men's golf team completed one of its most impressive performances in program history Sunday in winning the 2015 GolfWeek Conference Challenge at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington, Iowa.

The Hawkeyes finished the 54-hole tournament at minus-22, the program's fifth-best 54-hole score (842). Sunday, Iowa carded a 284 (minus-3) to earn its first tournament title since the Hawkeye-GRE Invitational on April 13, 2014.

'Winning is something that doesn't happen very often in our sport,” Iowa Coach Tyler Stith said. 'These kinds of moments are really special. The guys have put in a lot of work in the early portion of the season, and to win in Iowa in front of so many of the fans that support us is very cool.”

Iowa junior golfer Raymond Knoll claimed co-medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 205 (minus-11; 66, 67, 72). It was the lowest three-round total in program history. The title is the first of Knoll's collegiate career.

'It feels really good to finally get my first win,” Knoll said. 'I have put in a lot of work to get to this moment. Coming into this year I had a different mentality and I am playing with a lot more confidence. Knowing that all the hard work is finally paying off is really nice.”

The tournament win for both Iowa and Knoll was impressive considering the field. Defending NCAA champion LSU was among the 15 schools competing in the tournament. SMU golfer Bryson Dechambeau was one of only five golfers to win both the U.S. amateur title and the NCAA title in the same year. The others were Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996) and Ryan Moore (2004).

Iowa finished three strokes ahead of North Carolina State and four better than Idaho for the crown. LSU placed ninth. Kansas State golfer Jeremy Gandon tied Knoll atop the leaderboard. Dechambeau tied for ninth, seven strokes back.

Iowa senior Nate Yankovich and junior Carson Schaake each posted top-10 finishes. Yankovich birdied three of his final nine holes to tie for fifth at minus-7. Schaake tied for seventh at minus-6.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com