Narrated by Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Zach Johnson, fellow Iowan Ian Johnston (pictured above) is being featured on CBS Sports. The feature tells an inspiring story about Johnston’s crusade against the opioid crisis that directly impacted him and his family.
Click here to view the video from CBS Sports.
It was 9 a.m. and the ladies were off with a shotgun start for the final round of the Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur. A short weather delay towards the end and a playoff made for an exciting end to the Championship.
Three birdies helped Robin Webb shoot the low round of 75 on the second day, which propelled her from tied for fifth to tied for first. Webb is no stranger to finishing at the top of IGA Women’s events, coming off of a win in the Open Division of this years Women’s Amateur.
Laura Leszcznski was also tied for first after round two. She was disappointed with her putting after the first day and thought it was a major contribution to her 84. She was determined to fix it in the final round.
“I had seven three putts and one four putt and knew I wanted to work on my short game. It really paid off today because I got up and down from all over the place and missed very few putts.”
During a 15-minute weather delay today Leszczynski heard that Robin Webb was playing well, but she wasn’t sure of an exact number since Webb was in the group behind her.
After finishing with a 76, Leszczynski put her clubs in her car and waited for results. Once she learned that she would be a in a playoff against Webb she rushed to her car and the nerves kicked in, luckily she had support.
“I was a little anxious so I grabbed Kathy Fortune (fellow competitor and low Super Senior) and said I just need you to come with me to talk to me. She just tried to distract me which is perfect and just what I needed.”
Webb was first to tee off on hole 18 for the playoff, hitting it on the fairway. Leszczynski’s shot went in the left rough, but with 113 yards to the hole, it turned out to be the perfect position. Her second shot left her with a 15 -foot putt for birdie from the fringe, putting pressure on Webb.
Webb’s second shot landed in a bunker, leaving her with an extremely difficult lie to get out of. After an unsuccessful attempt to get up and down Webb conceited the playoff, naming Laura Leszczynski champion of the 53rd Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur.
When asked about her general thoughts of the day she raved about Sunnyside Country Club.
“The course was in fabulous condition. It was one of the nicest golf courses I’ve played all summer and I’ve played a lot of courses outside of Iowa. It was fun to grind it out today on a really good golf course.”
Kathy Fortune posted an 83 for the day, naming her low Super Senior. Other top finishers included first flight winner Beth Duenow and second flight winner Bonnie Jones. Click here to view full results.
Mike McCoy (right), the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur winner and Gene Elliott (left) have been longtime forces in the amateur game both as teammates and foes. The pair has battled it out for years in Iowa Golf Association events and also on the national stage.
Iowa’s own Gene Elliott and Mike McCoy both won their Round of 32 matches this morning at the U.S. Senior Amateur being played at Eugene Country Club. Elliott defeated Michael Rowley 1 up, while McCoy defeated Robert Funk 2&1.
McCoy will face Buzz Fly and Elliott will take on Ned Zachar (Iowa native) this afternoon in the Round of 16.
Click here to follow live scoring from all matches and to see a recap of scoring from previous rounds.
Iowa’s Mike McCoy, Gene Elliott and Joe Palmer (pictured above L-R) all advanced into the Round of 32 at the 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur being contested at Eugene CC, Eugene, OR.
Palmer’s stroke play total of 142 (-2) earned him the #3 seed into match play, while Elliott (144 – E) and McCoy (148 – +4) earned the #7 and #17 seed respectively. Iowa native Ned Zachar (#23 seed) also qualified for match play and won his opening round match.
The Round of 32 matches stack up like this:
McCoy vs. Robert Funk – 9:12 a.m. (CDT)
Elliott vs. Michael Rowley – 11 a.m.
Zachar vs. George ‘Buddy’ Marucci – 11:12 a.m.
Palmer vs. Craig Davis – 11:24 a.m.
Click here to follow live scoring from all matches and for a recap of stroke play qualifying.
West Des Moines’ Joe Palmer (above) is used to serving up winners.
Palmer added his name to the Iowa Senior Amateur trophy on Wednesday afternoon for the third time. Palmer won the event in 2013 and 2015 prior to his recent victory.
Palmer, who was in a dogfight with Jon Brown most of the day in the final round, got off to a nice start. Both Palmer and Brown turned in 33 (-3) and Brown pulled ahead after Palmer found trouble on #13 and made double bogey.
Palmer needed something to happen and it did. Palmer birdied three of his last four holes, including back to back on #15 and #16, to outdistance Brown by two when the dust had settled.
“Those (the back to back birdies on #15-16) got the round salvaged,” Palmer said. “I didn’t make many mistakes (early today) and then I hooked it into the bushes on #13 and had to take an unplayable. That kind of derailed me a bit, but I just tried to stay in the moment. It was unfortunate that Jon had some trouble in the bunker (on #16).”
Stay in the moment he did and closed the door on Brown with a 25 foot birdie putt on #18 (pictured right) that looked good from the start. Palmer who will head to Oregon for the U.S. Senior Amateur on Thursday commented that this is an event that is very important to him.
“The bomb on #18 was awesome,” Palmer said. “It looked good about 10 feet out. I don’t want to ever miss this event if I can. I wanted to commit to our senior major (event). I have time to get to Oregon and I am excited to get there.”
Palmer said playing 54 holes and winning the 40th Iowa Senior Amateur is the best prep he could ask for heading into the U.S. Senior Amateur.
“This was as good of a warm up as any,” Palmer said. “One of the keys this week for me was only having to play six holes on the first day (due to weather delay), it was getting dicey out there. I used to consider myself a ‘mudder’, but maybe not so much anymore. It was nice to get a restart and play 30 holes on day two at one under. I was glad to get 54 holes in.”
In the Super Senior Division, Dave Sergeant (left) bettered his age (73) in both the second and third round to win by two strokes over a hard charging Jim Butler. Sergeant put together rounds of 75-72-71 (+2) for the event and admitted he didn’t really know where he stood coming down the stretch. Butler closed with a 33 (-3), including three birdies in his first four holes coming in on the back nine (Butler started on #10).
“I thought Jim was leading with all the birdies he was making,” Sergeant said. “I am really happy to win.”
Click here to see a full recap of scoring.
Following a lengthy day of golf, as some golfers had to finish their first round early this morning and continued right into their second round, a pair of Des Moines Golf & CC members lead the pack at the 40th Iowa Senior Amateur.
Matt Weresh, following a second round 70 (-2), is tied with Chris Kramer who posted the low round of the tournament with 68 (-4) of his own. Both players sit at 143 (-1) for the tournament being contested at Des Moines Golf & CC (pictured above). Joe Palmer and Jon Brown both are positioned just two back of the lead at 145 (+1).
After rain off and on most of the day yesterday, players were welcomed with much better weather conditions on Tuesday. All but one group was able to complete their second round and will return in the morning to finish two holes.
In the Super Senior Division John Peters and Dan Dalziel share the lead at 145 (+1). Both players matched scores the first two rounds with 73-72. Dave Sergeant is just two back of the lead at 147 (+3) and Jim Butler is at 148 (+4).
Click here for a full recap of scoring.
Click here for third round pairings
Play was suspended for the day this afternoon due to over-saturation on the putting surfaces. At least six of the greens had too much casual water to continue. Consequently, due to radar that showed the rain would simply continue for the bulk of the afternoon/evening play was called for the day. The greens had reached a tipping point where they could not handle any more water today.
THOSE WHO NEED TO FINISH ROUND 1: We will re-start Round 1 at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Please be ready to play by 6:45 a.m. at which time we will make announcements and get you back into position.
ROUND TWO TEE TIMES: Round 2 tee times will be delayed by 2 hours. We will make the 2-hour adjustments to the website, which you can view by clicking here.
Players who are finishing round 1 in the morning will turn in their round 1 scorecards and then will have a very short break between starting their second round.
This will put our final tee time of the day at 4:20 p.m. If the weather cooperates, there is a small chance we can get back on schedule for Wednesday’s play. If we are unable to finish round two Tuesday, we may need to make a cut for Round 3. That will be determined based on the how things go tomorrow.
The two main bullet points you need to know for tomorrow are:
– 7:00 a.m. Restart time for Round 1
– Add two hours to your original Round 2 tee time (website has been updated to show the new tee times)
Thank you all for your patience today as we dealt with the weather. It seems that is the theme for IGA events this year, but hopefully, things will get much better over the next two days.
J.D. Anderson (pictured above on right with U.S. Mid-Amateur Committee Member Jamie Blackburn) was the medalist and lone qualifier at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier held at Otter Creek Golf Club on Monday, Aug. 13. Anderson posted 67 (-4), which was good by one stroke over Joe Palmer and Jeremy Tetrault. Anderson made five birdies on the day and only a single bogey.
Palmer earneed 1st Alternate position following a birdie on the first playoff hole (#1). The U.S. Mid-Amateur will be held Sept. 22-27, in Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte Country Club and Carolina Country Club will be used for the stroke play qualifying portion of the championship.
Anderson will join Iowa’s Mike McCoy and Gene Elliott who are already exempt into the championship.
Click here for a recap of scoring
It came down to who was going to hit a great shot to capture the 69th Herman Sani Tournament presented by Coppola Enterprises.
Zach Steffen (pictured above), a professional from Des Moines, was the one who answered the bell, even though it didn’t look promising before he hit the shot of the tournament, which came in a playoff.
Steffen, who posted the low score of the day with 66 (-6) just to get into a playoff with Broc Everett and J.D. Anderson, hit a towering wedge shot from the rough under one tree, over another that nearly went in the hole on #18 at Hyperion Field Club.
Steffen’s ball would settle above the hole and he would convert the birdie after Everett’s chip from just short of the green narrowly missed and Anderson’s putt slid by the hole for birdie. Steffen commented after the round it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“I knew I needed some help going into today,” Steffen said. “If Broc shoots 63 again I would have no chance. I knew I needed to keep making birdies and go as low as possible. Especially on the back nine, I knew I needed to keep the pressure on (Everett and Anderson).
Even tough his tee shot in the playoff, at first glance didn’t look ideal, he was in a position he felt comfortable with.
“In regulation I hit three wood and was too close to the green to spin it,” Steffen said. “In the playoff I hit hybrid and hooked it a little. I got break where I was at and could get under one tree and over the next. I have practiced that shot a lot and can hit a really high 60 degree (wedge). I had a good number and ball hit the front and almost went in they said. I was hoping it wasn’t six feet above the hole because I know how fast it is, but I was fortunate enough to make it.”
Steffen’s day included seven birdies, all in a 13-hole stretch, and just a lone bogey.
“I wanted to give myself as many chances as possible today,” Steffen said. “I love these greens. It gives me a lot of confidence. I have played well here in the past.”
In the Senior Division, Joe Palmer charged back with a 68 (-4) to finish two shots clear of Robert Dickerman. Palmer come home in 33 (-3), including a pair of birdies in the last four holes.
In the Super Senior Division (new in 2018), Rob Christensen won by four strokes over Dave Sergeant. Christensen shot rounds of 74-69-74 to finish at 217 (+1).
Click here for a full recap of scoring.
A pair of Herman Sani Scholars lead the way at the 69th Herman Sani Tournament after two rounds at Hyperion Field Club.
Broc Everett (pictured above), a 2013 Sani Scholar, leads by a stroke over Charles Jahn, a 2016 Sani Scholar. Everett, now professional, fired a 63 (-9) in today’s second round after an opening round 70. Everett, the 2018 NCAA D1 Individual Champion, made nine birdies on the day and no bogeys. Jahn also put together a ‘clean’ card on his way to 66 (-6), making six birdies and no bogeys.
J.D. Anderson, the 2017 IGA Player of the Year, didn’t let Everett or Jahn get out of his sights, as he posted a 65 (-7) of his own and sits just two back of the lead. A total of seven players are within five strokes of the lead and tomorrow’s final round should be nothing short of exciting.
In the Senior Division, Robert Dickerman still leads and will take a three shot lead over Andy Burton into tomorrow. Rob Christensen leads by two strokes over Dave Sergeant in the Super Senior Division.
Click here for a recap of scoring.
Click here for final round tee times.