By Ryan Murphy
ryan-e-murphy@uiowa.edu
The Iowa men’s golf team heads to Bradenton, Fla., for the Big Ten Match-Play Championships today — the first of two Hawkeye events in southwest Florida this season.
The Big Ten Match-Play is held at The Concession Golf Club, a course designed by legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus. The course is also home to the Calloway Collegiate Match Play Championships, the next event on the Hawkeye schedule. The team will take a month-long break from competition before returning to Bradenton for the Calloway Collegiate on March 18.
The Hawkeyes don’t often see the same course twice in one season. The last time the team competed on the same course twice in a campaign was in 2007, when Iowa twice teed off on the Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio.
Freshman Brian Bullington said getting experience at The Concession will be an advantage for the Hawkeyes.
“There’s no doubt it will help us,” Bullington said. “All the experience you can get on a golf course will definitely help, and it will make us feel more comfortable and more prepared. That should help us play better.”
Fellow freshman Joseph Winslow won both of his matches in Iowa’s victory at the Big Four Match-Play last weekend. He agreed playing at the same course twice will help, but said the Hawkeyes are focusing solely on their Big Ten brethren.
“It definitely will help, absolutely, but we’re focusing on one tournament at a time,” Winslow said. “We’re going to survey that course really well and figure out what’s going to be best for each one of us on that course and play it that way, and then we will review that course during the month off.”
The No. 32 Hawkeyes are the No. 2 seed in the tournament, behind Illinois. Iowa will play the winner of the match between No. 7 Northwestern and No. 10 Penn State on Friday before competing in two matches on Saturday.
All 12 Big Ten teams are in the competition — the only time these teams will all be together at one tournament until the Big Ten Championships in the spring.
Senior Brad George said it’s important not to give an opponent an opening to win a match, especially given the quality of the conference,
“You can’t give your opponent any kind of advantage,” George said. “They will use it and take control.”
