2024 IGA Yearbook

78 T he final round of the Sani Tournament presented by Coppola Enterprise played at Echo Valley Country Club, had a little bit of everything. A fluctuating scoreboard, a hole-in-one, a birdie for the ages, some good luck and stretches of brilliant golf by multiple players sprinkled in. When it was over, Zach Steffen (right) had won the third Sani title of his career. “I don’t know how many people have won it that many times,” Steffen said after a closing 7-under- par 65 and a 207 total gave him a two-shot victory over Denny Bull. “I’ll have to look at the trophy and see.” Sean McCarty has five Sani titles to his name. Joe Brown and Mike McCoy won it four times. Steffen joins Jerry Smith as three-time winners. Steffen won his first two Sani titles at Hyperion, in 2018 and 2021. “I love Hyperion, and I expected to win one there,” said the 32-year-old professional from West Des Moines, who also received a winning check of $2,500. “Out here, I’m just a little bit uncomfortable off the tee. I just had to trust my swing.” Steffen, who had opened with a 74 in Friday’s first round, got himself back into contention with a late rally and a 68 on Saturday. He finished that round birdie-birdie-eagle, and carried that momentum into Sunday. After an opening par on the first hole of the final round, Steffen ran off four straight birdies. That made him eight under for an eight-hole stretch going back to Saturday. His winning total of 207 was 9 under par. That fast start let Steffen pass second-round leader Grant Smith. But that was just part of the day’s story. Paired in the second-to-last pairing with 2013 Sani champ Chad Proehl and Bull, there were plenty of fireworks to come. “When I saw that pairing, and getting a chance to play with those guys, I thought, “This is going to be a great day,’ ” Bull said. “It exceeded my expectations. It was crazy. Awesome.” Proehl, who started the final round with a double bogey to drop to even par for the championship, was 5 under par just five holes later. First came the par-4 second hole. He hit the same tree on the right side of the fairway on two consecutive shots, then holed a 79-yard gap wedge for a birdie. He added birdies at the third and fifth holes. Then he aced the par-3 6th hole, hitting 5-iron. It was his second ace in a Sani Tournament and 14th of his career. “I make that ace and I’m thinking, “Anything’s possible,’ ” Proehl said. Steffen birdied the par-5 9th hole to turn in 31, and 7 under for the championship. Then it was Bull’s turn to make a run. He made nine consecutive pars Stef fens Wins Thi rd Sani in Style HERMAN SANI TOURNAMENT Echo Valley Country Club, Norwalk August 9-11, 2024 Zach Steffen wins his third Sani Tournament. presented by By: Rick Brown