K-State Ready for Regular Season Finale

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For one last time this regular season, the Kansas State men's golf team is set for competition as the Wildcats travel to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Hawkeye Invitational, a three-round, 54-hole event held Saturday and Sunday at the par-72, 6,886-yard Finkbine Golf Course.

This event, hosted by Iowa, is the next opportunity in a spring schedule that has seen the Wildcats rack up three top five-finishes, including a fifth-place finish earlier this week at the Mossy Oak Invitational in Mississippi when they shot a 3-under par 861 to pick up three ranked victories.

"We're excited to go back to the Hawkeye this year," head coach Grant Robbins said, who's team currently maintains a 285.04 stroke average to stand as the best mark in school history. "It's a course that most of our guys aren't familiar with but one that I think they will really like. It's a traditional tree-lined course that puts a premium on driving the ball well, and with the greens usually being firm and fast, it will be important to stay below the hole as much as possible."

Robbins will send Tim Tillmanns, Will Hopkins, Luke O'Neill, Laurenz Schiergen and Nicklaus Mason as the five in the scoring lineup. This is the fourth time this lineup has been used, and it's the same combination that competed earlier this week.

A couple of freshmen have begun to shine for the Wildcats as of late.

Schiergen, who came to K-State this semester, has wasted no time making his mark on the program. He is coming off his first career top-five finish when he tied for fourth place at 6-under par 210 in Mississippi. The performance included a career low 4-under par 68 second round on his way to the lowest 54-hole score of his career. Schiergen has appeared in every event for the Wildcats this spring and is the team leader in stroke average at 71.33.

Mason, a local product from Shawnee, Kansas, has tallied consecutive top-15 finishes, including a fifth place finish at The Indy and a tie for 12th at the Mossy Oak Invitational.

The two veteran leaders for K-State, Hopkins and Tillmanns, both know a thing or two about the importance of playing well in April. Tillmanns qualified NCAA Stillwater Regional last spring and will hope to build to another appearance.

A Wildcat who's acquired the most hardware this spring is O'Neill. The sophomore became the first golfer at K-State to win an individual title since 2019 when he won a share of the championship at the Colleton River Collegiate. He carded a 6-under par 66 third round during that 14-under par 202 performance, and he will hope to bring some of that magic to Iowa City.

Joining K-State and Iowa in a 14-team field is Cincinnati, Creighton, Drake, Illinois State, Iowa State, James Madison, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, South Dakota State and UMKC.

The Wildcats will use this weekend as a tune-up for postseason play, which starts with the Big 12 Championship, April 25-27.

"It's a quick turnaround for us this week and a great opportunity to keep getting better as we head into the postseason," Robbins said.

Action will begin both days at 8:30 a.m. via a shotgun start. The first two rounds will be played on Saturday, leaving the final 18 holes for Sunday. Fans can follow live scoring on Golfstat.com.

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Players Mentioned

Will Hopkins

Nicklaus Mason

Luke O'Neill

Laurenz Schiergen

Tim Tillmanns

Kansas State University Athletics