K-State Tied for Fourth after Day One in Iowa
Apr 20, 2019 | Men's Golf
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Kansas State men's golf put together a pair of consistent rounds on Saturday to enter final-round play tied for fourth in the Hawkeye Invitational at the par-71, 6,884 yard Finkbine Golf Course.
K-State jumped out to a hot start in the first round, shooting a 6-under par 278 before a 2-under par 282 in the second. The Wildcats' score of 8-under par 560 is equal to Kansas and one back of UMKC for a tie for third place.
Senior Roland Massimino led K-State on day one as the Lumberville, Pennsylvania, product tallied a 6-under par 136, which included a 5-under par 66 in round one. He enters Sunday's final round tied for seventh place.
"I thought it was an ok day for us," head coach Grant Robbins said. "The conditions were perfect for scoring, and there were several bright spots. However, we were only able to get a couple of rounds in the 60's. We are in good spot going into tomorrow. The wind is supposed to pick up, which should suit our team pretty well."
Senior Jeremy Gandon jumped three spots from round one to round two, and he finished the day at 4-under par 138 to be tied for 11th. Freshman Will Hopkins, who is competing as an individual, is at 2-under par 140, good enough for a tie for 19th. Junior Jacob Eklund tallied a pair of even-par rounds as he enters the final round tied for 29th. Junior Ben Fernandez is at 3-over par 145 and in a tie for 43rd, while senior JC Campbell is tied for 48th at 4-over par 146.
Tournament host Iowa and fellow Big Ten school Illinois are out ahead of the pack heading into Sunday's final round. The Hawkeyes are at 29-under par 539 thanks to a 22-under par 262 in the first round, and they lead theIllini by three strokes. Kansas' Charlie Hillier holds a one-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard at 10-under par 132.
The third and final round of the Hawkeye Invitational begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., on Sunday. Scores can be followed at www.golfstat.com.
Iowa Hawkeye Invitational
Finkbine Golf Course
Iowa City, Iowa
Par 71, 6,884 Yards
Team Scores: 1. Iowa, 262-277–539 (-29); 2. Illinois, 272-270–542 (-26); 3. UMKC, 284-275–559 (-9); T4. Kansas State, 278-282–560 (-8); T4. Kansas, 282-276–560 (-8); 6. Minnesota, 280-281–561 (-9); 7. Oral Roberts, 285-278–563 (-7); 8. Wisconsin, 282-283–565 (-3); 9. Indiana, 283-290–573 (+5); 10. South Dakota State, 289-285–574 (+4); 11. DePaul, 282-294–576 (+6); 12. Eastern Michigan, 283-295–578 (+8); 13. Nebraska, 304-278–582 (+12).
Top Individuals: 1. Charlie Hillier, Kansas, 68-64—132 (-10); 2. Matthew Walker, Iowa, 67-66–133 (-9); T3. Varun Chopra, Illinois, 67-67–134 (-8); T3. Benton Weinberg, Iowa, 64-70–134 (-8).
K-State Individuals: T7. Roland Massimino, 66-70–136 (-6); T11. Jeremy Gandon, 69-69–138 (-4); T19. Will Hopkins*, 69-71–140 (-2); T29. Jacob Eklund, 71-71–142 (E); T43. Ben Fernandez, 73-72–145 (+3); T48. JC Campbell, 72-74–146 (+4).
* Denotes competing as an individual
Players Mentioned
