Fisher’s Hot Start Turns Heads at Sani; Local Standouts in the Hunt
Darin Fisher enjoys playing at the Hyperion Field Club.
“It just fits my eye,” he said.
On Friday, the 50-year-old professional from Albia posted an eye-popping 9-under-par 63 to take the first-round lead in the Herman Sani Tournament presented by Coppola Enterprises.
Fisher (right), a two-time Sani champion, takes a three-shot lead over 18-year-old Andrew Johannsen of Johnston heading into Saturday’s second round. Johannsen, who had it 8 under par late in his round, settled for a 66. That was one shot better than Grant Smith, who had a bogey-free 67. Johannsen finished third and Smith fourth in last year’s Sani played at Echo Valley.
This is Fisher’s 13th appearance at a Sani hosted by Hyperion. His previous low round had been a 66 in the first round of 2014 and the final round in 2012. Fisher won that 2012 Sani in a one-hole sudden-death playoff against Tracy Vest. His second Sani title came in 2022 at Echo Valley.
Fisher was also tied with Gene Elliott, and one shot ahead of Sean McCarty, with four holes to play in 2010. But the tournament was called because of weather. McCarty and Elliott had been tied heading into that final nine and were declared co-champions.
Darin’s 63 was not a tournament record. Scott Hart shot 61 in the first round of the 2003 Sani. That 61 is also the lowest round shot in an Iowa major championship. On Friday, Fisher was two lipped-out putts away from joining Hart.
“I also had a three-putt on 11,” Fisher said. “But I did make a 50-footer on No. 5. I wouldn’t say (the round) was easy, but it was comfortable.”
Fisher was paired with another former Sani winner, Jon Brown, who shot 66 to lead the Senior Amateur Division. Brown has a two-shot edge over Jeff Panek of Johnston. Dave Gaer of West Des Moines leads the Super Senior Amateur Division with a 75.
“Jon played great, too,” Fisher said. “We just kept our momentum going the entire way.”
Fisher had just one birdie on a par-5 hole, but played Hyperion’s par-4s in 7 under par. Friday was just one more highlight in a season of smiles for Fisher. He was named the men’s and women’s golf coach at William Penn in February. He played in the U.S. Senior Open in June and won the Iowa PGA Section title in July at Echo Valley.
“It’s been a really good seven or eight months,” Fisher said.
Johannsen (right) is very familiar with the Hyperion Field Club.
“It’s my home track,” he said.
Smith has plenty of local knowledge at his disposal, too.
“I used to work here and I’ve played (Hyperion) hundreds of times,” said Smith, 30, a data analyst for Farm Bureau.
That home-course advantage paid off Friday. Johannsen credited his putter for his fine play.. Smith’s scrambling ability was the highlight of his round.
“The first 14 holes, I don’t think I missed a putt,” Johannsen said. “The last few holes things went a little haywire on me. But the putter was hot.”
Johannsen started his round on No. 10. He eagled the 11th, then birdied the final four holes to turn in 30. Two more birdies, at No. 3 and No. 4, got him to 8 under par.
Johannsen hit 17 greens in regulation. The only miss came at No. 7, where he didn’t get up-and down and recorded his first bogey of the day. Then he three-putted No. 8 for another bogey. Johanssen led Johnston High to a State Class 4A title last fall and finished as the individual runner-up to Andrew Galvin of Cedar Falls after a playoff. He has committed to Iowa to play his college golf.
Smith was a master at getting up-and-down for par on Friday.
“I made a lot of up-and-downs from not so easy places,” Smith said.
He started his round on No. 1 and missed the first three greens in regulation, but scrambled for par each time.
“Then I hit it long on No. 7 and made an up-and-down, which was pretty impressive,” Grant said. “”You don’t expect to make an up-and-down from where I was.”
That scramble save was sandwiched around birdies at No. 6 and No. 8. Smith. Smith birdied the 10th, 14th and 17th holes on the back nine to complete his 34-33 card.
McCarty, the Sani’s only five-time champion, had an interesting day. He finished at 70, but was shaking his head afterwards. McCarty’s scorecard showed two eagles, four birdies, three bogeys and a triple bogey.
During his career, Fisher has shown many times that he’s not afraid to go low.
“You learn that it’s OK to be 5 or 6 under and keep going,” he said. “You’ve got to keep your foot on the gas. That comes with experience. I think the older I get, the less anxious I am in those moments. That makes it easier to keep going.”
There’s an old axiom in golf that it’s hard to back up a low round with another one the next day.
“If you look at the leaderboard there are other guys who can do the same thing at a moment’s notice,” Fisher said. “And if I think this is the end all to be all tomorrow, I’ll be in trouble. I have to keep my head down and keep going forward.”
Tish Boothe (right) of Des Moines was the wire-to-wire in the Open Division of the championship. Boothe, who shot 75-77-75, finished six shots in front of runner-up Julie Buerman of Cedar Rapids (75-79-79). 
Jackson Laven of Okoboji (right) surged from behind in Sunday’s final round of the Northwest Amateur, carding a 4-under 68 to capture the title by a single stroke. Laven finished at 12-under-par for the tournament, edging out Arthur’s Axton Miller, who had led most of the way at Spencer Golf & Country Club and finished as runner-up.
Weissenburger (left) finished 22 under par, one shot better than two-time Iowa Amateur champion Jon Brown. Weissenburger shot 64-66-64, twice posting a 30 on Waveland’s front nine. A 14-time City champ, Brown shot 67-64-64. Third-place finisher Owen Howe was nine shots back.
