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IOWA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunnyside CC, Waterloo
Nate Dunn has reclaimed his title as Iowa Amateur
Champion, his third overall. Dunn, a Cedar Rapids
resident, fired rounds of four-under, 68 and even-par,
72 to hoist the Elliott Family Iowa Amateur Trophy at
Sunnyside Country Club.
The 114th Iowa Amateur Championship was played
under soggy conditions in Waterloo. After being hit
with severe weather and heavy rain during the second
round, the tournament was shortened to 36-holes.
Dunn did not let the altered playing conditions affect
his game.
“I was trying to get a feel for the golf course after the
rain,” Dunn said. “I really tried to keep the ball in front
of me.”
Dunn had plenty of company atop the leader board.
Eight golfers finished within five-strokes of Dunn’s 140
winning tally. Cody Holck, who played alongside Dunn
in the final group, never let Dunn get comfortable by
continuing to stay aggressive off the tee.
“I didn’t hit a lot of drivers today, but playing with these
young kids is fun,” Dunn said. “Cody hit driver all day
long and it was fun to watch.”
Holck also carded a four-under, 68 in the first round of
the tournament. Dunn had his game on cruise control,
moving his number to eight-under with just seven holes
to play in the final round. Holck would capitalize on a
pair of Dunn mistakes, cu�ng his lead to just one stroke
with a birdie on the 13th hole. Holck, of Ankeny, would
go on to bogey two of the next three holes to fall back
to three-strokes off the lead heading to the 18th-tee.
Dunn held a two-stroke lead over West Des Moines’
Broc Everett when he stepped up to hit his final tee
shot, and a three-shot advantage on Holck. Everett
had birdied that hole just 15-minutes prior, and held
the clubhouse lead with a three-under, 141 (70-71.)
However, Dunn was unaware of where he stood when
he hit that shot.
“I had no idea where I was, I didn’t want to,” Dunn
said. “I tried to stay aggressive when I could and
make pars when I needed to… I didn’t look at the
scoreboard until 18.”
With their second shots, Holck found the green but
had a lengthy birdie attempt. Dunn came up well
short of the pu�ng surface, but only needed to
put the ball on the green and two-putt to win the
tournament.
Holck made things interesting when his birdie attempt
found the bottom of the cup to tie Everett’s mark
of 141 (68-73), but it had no effect on Dunn. After
chipping the ball to 10-feet, Dunn calmly two-putted
and walked off the green as the 2016 Iowa Amateur
Champion.
Three-time Iowa
Amateur champion,
Nate Dunn, poses
with the Elliott Family
Trophy
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Nate Dunn wins 114th Iowa Amateur, Collects third title overall