Levi Slings, of Ankeny, fired a statement round at the 120th Iowa Amateur Championship at Crow Valley Golf Club in Davenport. During the Ankeny natives impressive first round showing, he carded a four-under 67 to tie for first place heading into round two.

Slings put himself in a position to chase one of the most sought-after amateur trophies in the nation. After the conclusion of his round, Slings gave credit to one of his good friends, Curtis Holck, who he recently caddied for at the U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier at Hyperion Field Club in Johnston.

“I caddied for Curtis Holck in the U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier last week and watching him work his way around the course was the model I tried to copy.,” Slings said. “I hit the ball well and made most of the putts I should have. It was a fun day with a fun group.”

Holck went on to win the qualifier and earn a spot in the 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.

Another name sits alongside Slings at the top of the leaderboard in this prestigious championship, as Nate McCoy posted a four-under round of 67 to hold a similar lead to the one Slings built during the early wave.

With six birdies on the card, McCoy has his eyes set on his fifth win of the season. Already holding a commanding lead in the 2022 IGA Player of the Year race, McCoy’s work remains unfinished.

North Liberty’s, Coby Thompson, joins five other competitors in a six-way tie for third place. Thompson carded a bogey-free round of 68 to stay in contention going into the second round.

Right there with Thompson is Marshalltown’s, Nate Vance, the current Iowa State Cyclone. Vance got off to a slow start but birdied five of his last seven holes to sneak into that six-way tie for third place.

A rival of Vance and current Iowa Hawkeye, Garrett Tighe, was able to match Thompson and Vance at three-under par. Tighe put together a 68 that included six birdies to keep him in striking distance.

Logan Barnes, Jonathan Douglas and Kelly Brown round out the last three spots of the six-way tie for third place. Barnes made the turn at one-over par and caught fire on the back-nine, recording five birdies in his final nine holes.

Douglas posted five birdies and Brown tacked on four to his first day. Willis Gaer, Cale Leonard and the three-time Iowa Amateur Champion, Nate Dunn, rounded out the top-ten after the conclusion of the first round of the 120th Iowa Amateur Championship.

Round two of the 120th Iowa Amateur Championship will start Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m., with the first two groups going off holes one and 10. Follow the competitors as they make a charge at Slings and McCoy on moving day by using our live scoring feature.

Congratulations to Collin Rutherford (above) on making a hole-in-one on the par-three 11th during the first round of the Iowa Amateur Championship at Crow Valley Golf Club. Rutherford used a nine-iron from 178 yards out for his third career hole-in-one. 

Championship Division
T1. Levi Slings -4 67
T1. Nate McCoy -4 67
T3. Coby Thompson -3 68
T3. Nate Vance -3 68
T3. Garrett Tighe -3 68
T3. Logan Barnes -3 68
T3. Jonathan Douglas -3 68
T3. Kelly Brown -3 68
T9. Willis Gaer -2 69
T9. Cale Leonard -2 69
T9. Nate Dunn -2 69
T9. Samuel Storey -2 69