The Iowa State Cyclones men's golf team represents
Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the
Big 12 Conference of
NCAA Division I. The team is coached by Andrew Tank, he is in his 7th year at Iowa State. The Cyclones play their home meets at
Veenker Memorial Golf Course
Veenker Memorial Golf Course is a public golf course which is owned and operated by Iowa State University. The golf course was completed in 1938 and it has hosted the Iowa Master's golf tournament since then. In 1959 the course was renamed for Geo ...
on Iowa State's campus.
History
The Iowa State men's golf team first got it start in 1923 in the
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference. After three years the MVIAA dropped men's golf as a sponsored sport. When the
Big Six sponsored golf in 1935, Iowa State joined once again. The early Cyclone squad were led by Coach
Hugo Otopalik who split his time between Iowa State golf and
wrestling. As a pioneer in the field of collegiate golf, OtopaliK was tournament director at the first
NCAA golf championship held at the Wakonda Country Club in
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
in
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
and was the first chairman of the NCAA golf committee. His best squads were headlined by brothers Billy and Max Hall; culminating with
Big Six conference titles for Billy and Max in 1939 and 1941 respectively and a seventh-place finish in the 1940 NCAA Championship.
After struggling to find success for almost half a century the Cyclones were able to reach the NCAA Regionals in seven out of nine years from 1991 to 1999. Several of those 1990s were led by
Jason Knutzon
Jason Knutzon (born January 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer.
Knutzon is a member of the Asian Tour and the European Tour. He is one of few Americans who mainly play on the Asian Tour. Knutzon has been to PGA Tour Qualifying School ...
who would go on to play in both the
U.S. Open and
The Open Championship.
Under current head coach, Andrew Tank, Iowa State is experiencing success both individually and as a team. Nate McCoy finished tied for 29th at the
2012 NCAA Championship, the highest individual finish in program history. In 2014 the team would reach the
NCAA Finals for the first time in over 50 years, they finished tied for 25th
Record
Individual honors
Veenker Memorial Golf Course
Named for George F. Veenker, head football coach at Iowa State from 1931 to 1936. He was also Athletic Director from 1933 until 1945. The golf course was completed in 1938 and given its current name in 1959.
The 6,543-yard, par-72, George Veenker Memorial Golf Course is located just two blocks north of the Iowa State campus. The 18-hole course was constructed in 1938 from the design of world-renowned golf course architect,
Perry Maxwell
Perry Duke Maxwell (June 13, 1879 – November 15, 1952) was an American golf course architect. He was a founding member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and was an inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He was kn ...
(re-designer of the seventh and 10th holes at Augusta National Golf Club in 1937). The golf course was built with WPA and Athletic Council funds, and cost $122,373. The course hosted the conference championships in 1982 and 1989, two regional
AIAW
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
championships, and hosts the annual Iowa Masters Championship. It also hosted the 1949
NCAA national championship, in which
Arnold Palmer was a participant.
The team practices at the newly opened $2 million Golf Performance Center located three miles from campus. The 16-acre facility was designed by world renowned architech Keith Foster to be used exclusively by the Iowa State men's and women's golf team.
References
External links
Veenker Memorial Golf Course
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa State Cyclones Golf