Author: iowagolf

Gibb leads with 66 (-6), Dickerman leads Senior Division at Herman Sani

Judd Gibb (professional) leads the 69th Herman Sani Tournament after the opening round, following a masterful 66 (-6). Gibb’s day started with a bogey, but would quickly turnaround, thanks to a total of seven birdies on the day at Hyperion Field Club. Gibb won this event in 2004.

Two fellow pros give chase, as Zach Steffen and Tyler Christians both posted 67 (-5), as they to stay on the heels of Gibb going into tomorrow’s round. Jake Marvelli and Charles Jahn are tied at 68 (-4) for low amateur through one round.

In the Senior Division, Robert Dickerman put together a fine round of his own, 68 (-4), to lead Andy Burton by four strokes. Dave Gaer sits just five shots back, at 73 (+1). Tom Sandie, 73 (+1) leads the Super Senior Division by a stroke over Ron Christensen.

Click here for a full recap of scoring.

Johnston’s solid play leads to Iowa Junior Amateur win, Burr wins 14-15 Division

A packed leaderboard was the story at Iowa Junior Amateur (16-18 Division) this year. Coming out on top was Ian Johnston (above right), who put together rounds of 68-69 (-1) to edge Burke Pitz (above left) by a single stroke. Conner Neighbors and Brock Snyder tied for third place, just three back of Johnston. Griffin Parker, who ultimately finished 5th, shot the low round of the tournament with 67 (-2) in the final round at Coldwater Golf Links.

 

Dillon Burr (above right) put together a pair of solid rounds at Coldwater Golf Links to capture the title in the Boy’s 14-15 Division. Burr, after opening with 70 (+1) on Tuesday, never trailed and won by three shots over Hogan Hansen (above left), who put together a 71 (+2) of his own in the final round.

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Patton wins Iowa Girls’ Junior Amateur, Sayre captures 14-15 Division

With the most dramatic finish of the day at Coldwater Golf Links, Annika Patton (above right) won the Iowa Girls’ Junior Amateur (16-18 Division) on the second hole of a sudden death playoff against Bailee Frayne (above left). Patton, who opened with 73 (+4), shot 79 (+10), while Frayne posted consistent rounds of 76-76. Allison Nuss finished third, six shot back of the Patton and Frayne.

 

Overnight leader Saffire Sayre (above left) cruised to a nine stroke victory in the Girls’ 14-15 Division. Sayre posted rounds of 75-79 (+16) to outdistance Grace Butler (above right), who posted 83-90 (+25).

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Iowa Junior Amateurs underway at Coldwater GL, Champions crowned

A trio of players are tied for the lead in the Iowa Junior Amateur at Goldwater Golf Links. Connor Neighbors, Ian Johnston and Mitchell Rice all posted 68 (-1). Due to some recent flooding on #2 and #15, those holes were played as a par three. Burke Pitz sits just a shot off the lead entering the final round.

Annika Patton, who opened with 73 (+4), leads by three strokes over Bailee Frayne in the Iowa Junior Girls’ Amateur. Lauren Sease is in third place, six shots off the lead, going into Wednesday’s final round.

In the Boy’s 14 & 15 Division Dillon Burr leads by five over Hogan Hansen, while Saffire Sayre leads Grace Butler by eight in the Girls’ 14 & 15 Division. Both division will play a second round to determine the champion.

In competition that concluded on Tuesday, Jett Loveanh outdistanced Mason Gatchel by six (Boy’s 11 & Under) and Maicy Baker won by six strokes over Lauren Nuss in the Girls’ 11 & Under Division. Meghan DeLong won by a single stroke over her sister Rebecca in the Girls’ 12 & 13 Division and Reid Hall was a winner by two over Joseph Currans in the Boy’s 12 & 13 Division.

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Jett Loveanh (left) & Mason Gatchel (right)

Maicy Baker (left) & Lauren Nuss (right)

Joseph Currans (left) & Reid Hall (right)

Rebecca DeLong (left) & Meghan DeLong (right)

Woltman birdies last two, wins 85th Iowa Open

Dan Woltman (above) of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin won the 85th Iowa Open after carding a 6-under-par 66 in the final round. Woltman beat out amateur, Tripp Kinney by two-strokes.

“You can get a lot of birdies on this golf course,” said Woltman. “There was no wind today and the greens were soft and rolling so well. I knew someone was going to have a low round in front of me. I just tried to stay patient and continued to hit fairways and greens. Luckily it was enough to win.”

Woltman started the final round in second place, one stroke off the lead, after carding a 2-under-par 70 in round one and an 8-under-par 64 in round two. Woltman carded a bogey-free final round with six birdies, including three-in-a-row on Nos. 2-4. He also tallied back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17-18 to secure the victory.

Click here to read more courtesy of the Iowa PGA Section.

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Kalz wins weather shortened Northwest Am

After South Africa’s Ian Snyman became the first international player to claim the Northwest Amateur Tournament crown a year ago, Jackson Kalz (right) continued the trend during a water logged, 96th edition of the tournament, finishing at 12-under par to take the title by three strokes.

The 18-year-old Adelaide, Australia native entered Sunday’s championship flight in a tie for the lead with 50-year-old Jon Brown, of Adel, at 7-under par after both players shot identical first and second rounds of 69 and 68.

Click here to read more courtesy of the Spencer Daily Reporter.

Click here for a recap of scoring

Special Report on Golf Course Playing Surfaces

Have you noticed your home course’s turf suffering a bit more in 2018 than in previous years?  If you haven’t, you are one of the lucky ones.  Dr. Adam Thoms of Iowa State explains why this has been an especially difficult year for our playing surfaces in Iowa.

SPECIAL REPORT FROM DR. ADAM THOMS, Ph.D. Iowa State University

What a year for turfgrass in Iowa.

Has the turfgrass on your local golf course been on your mind this summer? We have had one of the hardest growing seasons for turfgrass so far this season. As the Turfgrass Extension Specialist for Iowa, I have had more calls and emails about turfgrass this year than in my previous time combined.

This spring we had one of the coldest April’s on record. In parts of the state we had snow cover for the majority of the month. The low temperature’s also slowed the creeping bentgrass from breaking winter dormancy. The delayed start for the creeping bentgrass allowed annual bluegrass to get an early competitive advantage in growth. Less than 30 days after the last snow melt we had 90 degree temperatures with high humidity. Typically in the spring turfgrass will spend a lot of energy both growing above ground tissue and below ground roots. Due to the low April temperatures the roots did not develop as well as they have should have, making the early high temperatures extra hard on the golf course.

Moisture was also very prevalent in May and early June for parts of the state. The regular soaking of the golf courses also kept the roots more shallow than traditionally we like to see them. During a dry spring a superintendent can push the roots deeper by watering deeply and infrequently, however when it rains regularly the roots do not need to go deep into the soil in search of water. Many courses saw large rains, which added to the monthly totals but had much of the rain run off rather than infiltrate into the soil. Those golf courses that saw flooding also saw 90 degree temperatures, which caused a loss of oxygen in the rootzone killing the turfgrass and leaving a layer of silt in the soil. The excessive amount of water in May and June also has created perfect conditions for crabgrass, and in many cases it has caused preemergent herbicides for crabgrass to fail. Due to wet conditions some superintendents have also missed fertility applications, leaving weak turf until those applications could be made.

July so far has been very dry for much of the state, with many of the days above average. With the shallow turfgrass roots drought showed up very quickly. The annual bluegrass (Poa annua) also had more shallow roots than normal, and the low moisture and high temperature stress of early July caused much damage to these plants as well. High humidity was also present for much of June and July, this added disease pressure for extended periods adding to the already stressed turfgrass, which we typically only see for a few days at a time.

This also shows the importance of having sound resources for golf course superintendent’s to utilize during growing seasons like this one. Iowa State University Extension is a great resource, which provides a Turfgrass Specialist to help with diagnosing and troubleshooting problems. Another very helpful resource is the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association, this network of superintendents can provide resources and support to help during stressful growing seasons and continuing education for the superintendents. The good news is that cooler temperatures were here for a few days, and fall is on its way with recovery for most cool-season turfgrasses. Finally, keep in mind that damage is done, and it will take some time and better growing conditions to recover.

 

Sincerely,

 

Adam Thoms, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Commercial Turfgrass
Iowa State University

Palmer qualifies for U.S. Senior Amateur

Joe Palmer of West Des Moines claimed the lone qualifying spot into the USGA Senior Amateur Championship on Monday, July 30th at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo.  Palmer defeated Tom Norton of Muscatine in a playoff after both finished on 1-under par 71.

Both Palmer (right) and Norton got off to rough starts but then battled back with excellent play down the stretch.  Palmer made bogey on his first two holes, birdied #3, then managed 13 pars and 2 birdies the rest of the way.  Norton, meanwhile, made bogey on the first three holes then, after pars on 4 thru 7, he started making birdies.  He birdied 8, 11, 12, 15 & 18 while making a lone bogey at 9 to storm into a tie with Palmer and force the playoff.

In the playoff, Palmer made a par on the first playoff hole (which was #15) while Norton made a bogey.

Don Peterson of Wayzata, MN earned 2nd alternate status after he and Sam Billmeyer each shot 73.

CLICK HERE FOR SCORING

 

JULY 30, 2018 – WATERLOO, IA

20 golfers will be competing for a single spot into the USGA Senior Amateur Championship on Monday at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo.

In what is a bit of a sprint rather than a marathon, players will play a single round to try and earn the coveted spot.  The winner will advance to compete at the national championship at Eugene Country Club in Oregon from August 25-30.  There they will face 36-holes of stroke play qualifying to try and make the 64-person match play draw.

Iowans Mike McCoy and Gene Elliott are exempt from qualifying.  Scores from the qualifier will be updated after 9 holes.

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Kinney captures 116th Iowa Amateur

By RICK BROWN
POLK CITY – Golf can be exhilarating. And kick-in-the-stomach cruel.

Both sides of that emotional coin were on display Wednesday during the final round of the 116thIowa Amateur Championship at Tournament Club of Iowa.

Tripp Kinney of Waukee rolled home a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18thgreen to outlast defending champion Trevor Ullestad of Jewell on the third hole of their sudden-death playoff.

Minutes earlier, Ullestad had missed a 3-foot birdie putt at No. 17 that would have made him the 12thman to successful defend his title, and first since Bo Anderson in 2001 and 2002.

Kinney, 20, who plays collegiately at Iowa State, took advantage of his second chance a hole later. This was the first playoff he’d ever been a part of.

“You never want to see a guy to miss a putt,” Kinney said. “It’s so hard, in that pressure situation. Fortunately I was able to get another hole. But Trevor played great today. I don’t want to take anything away from him.”

Kinney hit a knock-down 7-iron, into the wind, to 5 feet on the third playoff hole. After Ullestad didn’t get up and down for par when he missed the green left, Kinney had two putts to win. He needed just one.

“I was so nervous at that point,” said Kinney, who has played for the last two Cyclone teams that reached the NCAA finals. “It was a 5-footer. That’s the stuff I practice all the time.”

Kinney and Ullestad finished regulation play at 210, 3-under par. The two had started the final round tied for the lead and both closed with 71s.

“I played pretty well coming down the stretch just to get in the playoff,” said Ullestad, 22, who completed his eligibility at Missouri this spring. “Whenever you miss a short putt to win and end up losing, it hurts pretty bad.”

Former champ Jon Brown, who won the IGA Match-Play Championship last month, tied for third with University of Iowa golfer Alex Moorman at 210. Moorman’s 69 was the lowest final-round score.

Brown closed with a 70 and made the biggest move of the day, taking the lead with a front-nine 4-under 31.

“I did hear about it,” Kinney said. “But my mentality today was not to worry about anyone else, and just worry about what I could do. I was able to focus on what I could control.”

Brown, 50, who won the Iowa Amateur in 2006, looked like he might outplay the college kids once again. Brown had defeated Iowa’s Matthew Walker in the match-paly semifinals, and beat Iowa State’s Frank Lindwall in the final.

But he couldn’t sustain his front-nine fireworks and Kinney and Ullestad passed him on the par-5 13th. Kinney made an eagle, Ullestad a birdie.

Kinney would bogey the next three holes, and his lead over Ullestad melted to a single shot.

The par-5 17thproved to be a pivotal hole in regulation, as well as in the playoff. Kinney had a 15-footer for eagle, but settled for birdie. Ullestad had a 6-footer for eagle on the same line as Kinney’s eagle attempt, and made it to draw even with a hole remaining.

Ironically, Kinney’s eagle on the 13thhole, from 8 feet, was on the same line as the 12-footer Ullestad had attempted for eagle from the back fringe.

“I definitely got a good read off his putt (on 13), and I guess he got a good read on mine,” Kinney said.

Ullestad missed the 18thgreen long and to the right, but got up-and-down. Kinney two-putted for par and the Iowa Amateur was headed to a playoff for the first time since 2015, when Mike McCoy beat Gene Elliott on the first hole of sudden death.

The shot that ultimately won the championship for Kinney is that 7-iron into the third playoff hole.

“That’s a shot I wouldn’t have been able to hit last year,” Kinney said. “Into the wind I struggled mightly. I couldn’t control the spin, or where it was going. I worked with my coaches at Iowa State so much. I ended up hitting that shot three times, once in regulation and twice in the playoff. Luckily, my game continues to progress.”

This is the fourth Iowa Golf Association-sponsored tournament title for Kinney. He won the Iowa Junior Amateur in 2013 and 2014 and the IGA Match Play title in 2017. On Wednesday, he added his name to a tournament that has been around since 1900.

“An unbelievable feeling,” Kinney said.

Kinney hopes to ride the momentum from Wednesday’s win into his junior season with the Cyclones.

“Winning is always fun,” Kinney said. “It’s something that hasn’t come very often since I got to college. It’s something I want to continue learning how to do, learning how to compete. If I can do that, hopefully my game continues to grow and I continue to get better.”

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