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Git R Done Invitational
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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Prepare For Big 12 Championship
04.21.2021 | Men's Golf
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men's golf team will compete at the 2021 Big 12 Championship (April 26-28) at a familiar place.
This year's conference championship is at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., one of the Midwest's finest layouts and a tract which has played host to numerous Big 12 Championships and national-caliber tournaments.
After taking a pause in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elite teams in college golf will get to congregate for the league title again. Seven Big 12 teams are ranked in the top-50 of the most recent Golfweek national rankings, paced by No. 1 Oklahoma. No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas are also in the top-10.
Texas (2017), Oklahoma (2018) and Oklahoma State (2019) all triumphed in the last three years of the tournament.
Prairie Dunes is playing host to its 13th Big 12 Championship and, as always, a challenging test. The tournament setup normally plays at a par-70, 6,759-yard layout and only one current Cyclone, Tripp Kinney, played the course the last time the event was held there in 2017.
"Prairie Dunes is a great golf course with a championship layout," Iowa State head coach Andrew Tank said. "It's really a great opportunity for all of the players to be tested and it's something that we are looking forward to. I just think it's going to be a great championship."
Kinney, who is wrapping up one of the most successful careers in Cyclone golf history, will enter the Big 12 Championship ranked No. 131 nationally by Golfstat and the team leader in stroke average (72.25).
Kinney, who had a top-10 finish at the 2019 Big 12 Championship (T8th), is trying to become the first Cyclone to compete in four NCAA Championships.
He's raised his game another level down the stretch, averaging 70.8 strokes and recording nine rounds at par or below in his last 11 rounds. The Waukee, Iowa native wants to make the most out of his final rounds as a Cyclone.
"I feel like I've been building quite a bit ever since the beginning of this spring semester," Kinney said. "I've been playing solid golf all spring, and just these last couple rounds I've definitely seen a lot of improvements, seen a lot of good things, especially with the areas that I would consider my weakness a little while ago."
Junior Lachlan Barker has battled Kinney for the top spot on the squad throughout the 2020-21 season, ranking second on the team in stroke average at 72.50.
Barker, who is ranked No. 179 by Golfstat, got off to a hot start to the spring season, racking up three-straight top-10 performances, including a runner-up finish at the Arizona Intercollegiate.
Kinney and Barker are in excellent shape to earn individual berths to a NCAA Regional and Tank has been pleased with their leadership.
"The great thing about Tripp is just his desire to improve," Tank said. "He wants to be great and he doesn't settle for anything less. He just continues to work on his game. Lachlan has always been a really solid player, but this year he took his preparation to a new level and really dedicated himself to doing the extra stuff on a consistent basis."
Rounding out the Cyclone lineup will be Nate Vance (So., Marshalltown, Iowa), Frank Lindwall (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Ricky Costello (Jr., Homer Glen, Ill.).
To follow the Cyclones at the Big 12 Championship, click here.
Players Mentioned
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