Herrmann wins 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur, Palmer & Brooks top divisions
Muscatine’s own Sam Herrmann (right) finished victorious at the the 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship hosted by Geneva Golf and Country Club. 1-under on the day, Herrmann finished the tournament 2-under (211), holding off Ankeny’s Connor Peck who played the final round 2-over for a total of 214. Josh Janeczko of West Des Moines and Jon Brown of Adel tied for third place at 217. Janeczko played a strong 1-under (70) round while Brown struggled to make up ground, ending up with a 3-over 74.
While having the home course advantage, this was Herrmann’s first ever IGA victory.
“Patience was the biggest thing for me,” he said. “[I] knew I was going to be nervous out of the gate.”
Despite Peck’s early lead, Herrmann stuck to his plan and it paid off on the back nine.
“[I] had a few putts roll my way, Connor got plopped out on 16 and [I] just sort of capitalized on that,” Herrmann explained after the round.
Herrmann commented his driver was instrumental in closing out his win.
“Those finishing holes were no joke, especially with the wind,” Herrmann said. “[I] just had to commit to free swinging it.”
With the course being “the firmest” and “the fastest” it has played in a while, Herrmann believed that “growing confidence with that club was big” down the stretch.
In the Senior Division, Joe Palmer (left) of Norwalk triumphed over Ankeny’s Curtis Holck after three playoff holes in a finish reminiscent of the 2021 Senior Match Play championship match, when Palmer defeated Holck in a neck-to-neck 20 hole match. Holck played the final round 1-over (73) to force a playoff with Palmer despite teeing off three strokes back. The pair finished the tournament at 221, with Ottumwa’s Jeff Collett in third at 223.
Bob Brooks of West Des Moines continued his dominance over the Super Senior Division with a 1-over 72, gapping the field by 9 strokes on the tournament with an overall 1-over 214. Runner-up Tom Norton of Muscatine totaled a 223 and third place Dave Waugh of Davenport finished at 225.