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143 "I told coach Dan (Holterhaus) going into that final hole that this is what we have been working for all year and this is what we practice for," said Schaake. "We practice to hit shots under this kind of pressure and in these situations." Both Schaake and Hardy would bogey hole 18 and share medalist honors with a 72-hole total of 284. "Crowning a Big Ten champion is very special," said UI first-year head coach Tyler Stith. "I felt confident about Carson's position heading into the final round. I told him not to focus on chasing Hardy because someone else might be going lower. He stayed patient and played his game. When the opportunity came to win, he finished like a cham- pion." Since Schaake recorded a lower score than Hardy in the final round, he earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. "I am playing some of the best golf that I have played in my entire life," said Schaake. "is win gives me a lot of confidence going into the NCAA's because I know that I can play with the best of the best." Iowa, ranked 46th nationally, has advanced to NCAA competition in each of the last six seasons. is year's selection show will air on Golf Channel on May 4 at 9 a.m. (CT). NCAA Regional compe- tition takes place at six sites from May 14-16. U niversity of Iowa men's golfer Carson Schaake has been practicing for big mo- ments his entire life, and it paid off April 26 when he walked away from the 2015 Big Ten Tournament as champion. "It means a lot to see all the hard work and time I have put in over the years finally paying off," said Schaake, a native of Omaha, Nebraska. "ere were countless hours prior to the Big Ten Cham- pionships where I would go out to the golf course and work on stuff by myself in order to improve my game and it was worth it." e sophomore joins an elite group at Iowa, be- coming only the third Hawkeye to win a Big Ten individual title. Brad Klapprott was the last Hawk- eye to hoist the trophy in 1992, when he led Iowa to its only conference team championship. "It is an amazing feeling," said Schaake. "It's pretty special to win a Big Ten championship in general, but for that to be my first collegiate win is incred- ible, and to be able to do it with my whole fam- ily and a bunch of Hawkeye fans there was extra special." Scahaake recorded the best 18-hole score of his career and the lowest round of the three-day event in Friday's opening round with a seven-under-par 65. Aer carding a 70 and a 76 in the second and third rounds, he found himself trailing Illinois' Nick Hardy by three strokes heading into Sunday. Schaake fought his way back and sure enough, the tournament would be decided on the final hole as both Schaake and Hardy sat at five-under par.