The Iowa Western men's golf team kicked off it's 2023-24 season by winning the Crazy Horse Challenge hosted by Sterling College at Crazy Horse Sports Club and Golf Course in Hutchinson, KS, September 5th and 6th.
Tuesday, September 5th featured 36-Holes of competition (Rounds 1 & 2) in very hot and windy conditions. After the first round the Reivers found themselves in a tie for second place in the team standings after posting a 304 team score. Bethany College had the first round lead after they posted 297. The Reivers were led by sophomore Shoma Taguchi's first round score of 74. Iowa Western also had two individuals competing in the field, and sophomore Cooper Hanson fired an even par round of 72 which saw him only two shots back of the individual lead.
The second eighteen holes on Tuesday saw the Reivers clean up some of their miscues from round one as they posted a team score of 297. Barton Community College, who was tied for second with Iowa Western after round one fired a 293 to take a four shot lead. The Reivers were led in the second round by Taguchi equaling his round one total with a 74, sophomore Ethan Smith fired a steady round of 74, sophomore Magnus Nielsen also shot 74, and rounding out the scoring for round two was sophomore Calen Bishop who shot a three over par 75. Individually in round two Hanson backed up his even par 72, with a one over par 73 to stay near the top of the individual leaderboard. Freshman Nick Slobbe competing as an individual, battled back from a tough round one score and fired a two over par 74.
The players were battle tested with windy conditions on Tuesday, and it did not get any better on Wednesday. Iowa Western began the day four shots back of the lead. The Reivers were able to grab some momentum during the final round, with three of their five golfers getting rounds under par early to begin the day.
"We knew we were going to give some shots away, just by how demanding this course was off the tee and then you add 25 to 30 mph winds to the mix, it made for a very tough test", said Iowa Western Assistant Coach Ryan Norman. "I'm proud of how the guys fought and battled, they stayed mentally tough when things got difficult and that made all the difference".
When the final putt was dropped, the Reivers totaled a final round team score of 300 which was the lowest round of the day by eight shots. Iowa Western won the event with a 54-hole total of 901, which was four shots clear of Barton Community College who had a tournament total of 905. Reiver final round scoring was led again by Taguchi who fired a one under par 71, making his 54-hole total of 219 good enough for second place individually. Sophomore Henry Kosmicki had his lowest round of the tournament with a 74, Smith had another steady 74, and Nielsen had an 81 to round out the final day scoring. Hanson competing as an individual closed with a 78 and a tournament total of 223 which placed him in a tie for fifth place. Taguchi and Hanson were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts and individual finishes in the event.
The Reivers have a couple weeks off before they get back to action in their hosted event, the Bent Tree Intercollegiate Showcase, September 25th and 26th at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, IA.
