Peck wins 2023 Carroll Amateur by one
Defending champion Ankeny’s Connor Peck (right) finished victorious at the Carroll Amateur held at Carroll Country Club this past weekend — but it wasn’t easy. Windy conditions kept the leaderboard in constant motion throughout the 36 holes on Sunday, and it took the final hole to decide the order of the top-four finishers.
Peck, John Spellerberg, of Bellington, NE, and Ankeny’s Hunter Johnson, all in the final pairing, began their final hole of the tournament tied at 5-under. While Peck birdied to round out his winning (-6) 207 total, Spellerberg bogeyed and Johnson double-bogeyed to card totals of (-4) 209 and (-3) 210, respectively. Meanwhile, Cedar Fall’s Owen Sawyer, also in the final pairing, slid his way into a runner-up title with a birdie, finishing with (-5) 208. Spellerberg finished in third, Ankeny’s Nate McCoy finished in fourth after an impressive tournament-low 6-under final round, bouncing back with eight birdies from his +5 second eighteen, and Johnson finished in fifth.
While only the Open Division’s Championship Flight played 54 holes, the other divisions were also intense. In the Senior Division, Council Bluffs’ Sean Davis took home the title with a (E) 142, followed by Urbandale’s Ron Peterson (+1), Cedar Fall’s Mike Sawyer (+2), and Ankeny’s Bill Matzdorff (+2). A division-low first round (-2) 69 helped Davis secure his win.
Gowrie’s Tom Schill championed the Super Senior Division, starting the weekend off with a blistering (-6) 65. Des Moines’ Dave Gaer (+3) and West Des Moines’ Bob Brooks (+5), both with IGA wins under their belt this season, finished in second and in third, respectively, both unable to close the gulf between themselves and Schill from the first round.
Open Division flight winners included Des Moines’ Willis Gaer (+4), Solon’s Sam Zoske (+8), Winterset’s Chad Hein and Atlantic’s Jake Olson (tied at +17), and Spencer’s Kaden Miller (+23).