The final round of the Sani Tournament, presented by Coppola Enterprises, had a little bit of everything Sunday at Echo Valley Country Club.

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 (above) 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 on the front nine.

“I felt left out,” Bull said. “Those guys were making birdies, and holing out.”

Bull ran off five consecutive birdies, starting at No. 10, and caught Steffen for the lead at 7 under. Steffen also birdied No. 11 but had his only bogey of the final round on the next hole.

“I just felt like I needed one (putt) to go in  to get a little momentum,” Bull said.

His momentum hit a road block when he didn’t birdie the par-5 15th hole. 

“That was disappointing, because that’s probably the easiest hole on that side,” Bull said. “My chip checked up on me.”

Steffen was in a greenside bunker in two at 15, then nearly holed his third for eagle.

“It landed right in front of the cup, hopped up and caught the right edge of the cup,” Steffen said.

He tapped in for birdie for the outright lead and never gave it up. Proehl dropped back with bogeys at the 13th and 16th holes. Steffen got to the 18th tee with a one-shot lead over Bull, and then dodged disaster. 

His tee shot sailed right, and looked headed for the penalty area, but it caught a tree and dropped down in the right rough. He hit his second shot to 25 feet, and Bull kept the pressure on by hitting his approach to 15 feet.

But it became anticlimactic when Steffen holed his birdie putt.

“It probably had five feet of break,” Steffen said. “”It was one of those where I was expecting Denny to make his. I wasn’t trying to ram it by, but I wanted to give it a chance. It caught the left door and it fell in. I was very fortunate off the tee to stay out of the penalty area, and I took advantage of it.”

When Steffen’s putt fell in, Bull stopped and clapped for the winner.  Then he two-putted for a closing par.

“I felt good about that putt,” Bull said. “But when his went in, it took the wind out of me.”

Andrew Johanssen of Johnston, 17, finished in third alone at 5-under-par 211 after a closing 70. Johannsen broke par in all three rounds. Smith (73) was alone in fourth, another shot back. Defending champion Hogan Hansen (73) and Proehl (71) tied for fifth at 213.

Joe Palmer captured the Sani’s Senior Amateur title. His final-round 75 and 215 total was two shots better than Jon Brown (70).

The Super Senior Amateur title went to Dave Gaer by six shots. Gaer closed with a 72 and a 215 total. Robert Pomerantz (72) was the runner-up.

When the day’s drama had ended, and Steffen had finished on top, he reflected on what had happened.

“Honestly, it was one of the most fun rounds I’ve ever had, playing with Chad and Denny,” Steffen said. “Everyone played great at times during the round.”

But Steffen was the last man standing.

“I’m happy for Zach,” Proehl said. “He played really well.”

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From left – Super Senior Champion Dave Gaer, 75th Herman Sani Champion Zach Steffen, Low Amateur Dennis Bull and Senior Champion Joe Palmer.

It’s early August. That means it’s time to watch out for Grant Smith (above) on the golf course. 

A year ago, Smith made it to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills outside Denver, Colo.

And his game is in fine form again this year. Smith shot a second-round 69 at Echo Valley Country Club Saturday and takes a two-shot lead into Sunday’s  final round of the 75th Herman Sani Tournament hosted by Coppola Enterprises.

“I’m hitting it well right now,” said Smith, whose 5-under-par 139 total is two shots clear of Andrew Johannsen and Jackson Overton. “I’m just trying to score, and trying to compete.”

A final-hole birdie gave Johannsen a Saturday 70 to go with an an opening 71 for his two trips around Echo Valley’s Ridge and Creek nines.  

“Hyperion is  pretty tight, and I’d say the Creek nine is pretty tight, similar to the back nine at Hyperion,” Johannsen said. “And the Ridge nine is a pretty tough nine. You’ve really got to be on your game.”

Overton, a sophomore and member of the men’s golf team at Loyola of Chicago, finished on the Ridge course Saturday. Three straight birdies, starting at No. 6, got him to 6 under for the championship. But then he made an 8 on his closing hole and settled for a second-day 70.

“I hit two balls out-of-bounds (to the right),” Overton said. “Then I hit a 4-wood off the tee, hit a 4-iron into the bunker and got up-and-down for an 8. It was a good 8.”

Three players with a lot of winning experience start Sunday’s final round in a tie for third at 2-under 142. Chad Proehl and Zach Steffen are professionals and former Sani champions. And Denny Bull is an Echo Valley member coming off a victory at the Northwest Amateur last weekend.

Proehl, the 2013 Sani winner and the former head golf professional at Echo Valley, shot a second-round 71. His scorecard had one birdie and 17 pars.

Making the biggest jump was Steffen, who had opened with a 74 Friday. He finished Saturday’s round with four straight 3s on his card. That included birdies at the Ridge’s par-4 7th and 8th holes and an eagle at the par-5 9th. That gave Steffen a second-round 68, the lowest score of the championship to date.

“This gives me some life going into tomorrow,” said Steffen, who won both of his Sani titles (2018, 2021) at Hyperion Field Club.

Bull was sick when he returned home Sunday night from his winning road trip to Spencer. 

“I was sicker than a dog Monday through Friday,” said Bull, who got to 4 under before a pair of late bogeys. “Today (Saturday) is the first day I’ve felt better, and my game’s pretty good. I’ll be playing at home. I’d like to think I have a chance. My game is there. I just need to execute a little better, and make some putts.”

Smith was in contention at the Iowa Amateur two weeks ago at Finkbine in Iowa City, but struggled with his putter in a final-round 74 and tied for 17th. He changed putters and feels  more confident  on the greens now.

“I’m rolling it a lot better,” Smith said. “I’m rolling it end-over-end. I’m hitting a lot of good putts. Some of them go in, some of them don’t.”

Echo Valley was more forgiving Saturday than it was in Friday’s first round, when just five players broke par and the scoring average for the field was 79.9. No one broke 70 in the first round, the first time that’s happened since Jon Brown’s 70 earned him the first-round lead in 2013.

The field average Saturday was about the same, at 79.3 strokes. But 17 players bettered par, with Steffen and Smith breaking 70.

Smith, who tied for seventh in the Northwest Amateur last week, knows the challenge facing him on Sunday.

“There are so many good players,” he said. “I’ve just got to focus on my own game. I know it’s probably going to take a score of a few under par. I’ve just got to focus on hitting my best shot each time.”

Joe Palmer shot a second-straight 70 in the senior amateur division, and takes a three-shot lead over Curtis Holck into play Sunday. Holck rallied from an opening 75 with a Saturday 68.

Dave Gaer shot 73 Saturday after an opening 70 in the super senior amateur division. His 1-under-par 143 total is six shots clear of Robert Pomerantz. 

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