Champions have been crowned at the Herman Sani Tournament held at Echo Valley Country Club in Norwalk this afternoon. Scattered thunderstorms early in the morning led to some unprecedented delays, but a few players persevered to earn the titles.

Winning the open overall division with a total of -11 (66-69-70)  is Grant Smith (above) of West Des Moines.

“After coming up short in a lot of these tournaments, it feels really good to finally get the job done,” expressed Smith with a smile. “The golf course, staff, and membership were incredible out here. It was a fun weekend.”

Smith’s championship round was a rollercoaster. After opening with three birdies in his first five holes, Smith found trouble on the par-four seventh where he took a double-bogey, followed up by a pair of bogeys.

“It was rough out there for a little bit,” shared Smith. “But I was fortunate to have my dad on the bag today and that really helped keep me grounded.”

Smith fired two birdies in his final two holes to edge Bettendorf’s Ethan Blomme by a single stroke. Blomme also rattled off back-to-back birdies in his final few holes to give himself a chance at -10 (69-68-69), but it was ultimately Smith who sealed the deal. Arthur’s Axton Miller rounded out the podium at -9 (67-68-72)

In the Senior Division, Echo Valley Country Club member Bill Matzdorff (right), of Cumming, claimed his first IGA major title in his career after posting rounds of 68-70-68 (-10) to win by two.

“It was great getting to win on home soil this weekend,” Matzdorff expressed. “If you would have told me at the start of the week I would only make six bogeys and fire off 16 birdies I wouldn’t have believed you. It was a great weekend.”

Norwalk’s Joe Palmer and Johnston’s J.D. Anderson came in second and third place, respectively, at -8 for the weekend.

In the Super Senior Division, Humboldt’s Tony Malizia (left) secured his victory going +7 (78-73-72). Malizia’s final round 72 was the lowest 18-hole score in the division all weekend.

“I made a lot more putts today than I had the previous two days, so that helped a lot,” shared Malizia. “I can’t say enough good things about this place, it was excellent.”

Des Moines’ Mark Gambaiana and Marshalltown’s Rob Christensen rounded at the podium at +16.

Iowa City’s Steven Ihm secured the professional division title at -6 (75-66-69), followed by Albia’s Darin Fisher (-4) and Ankeny’s Zach Steffen (-1).

Special thank you to the staff and membership at Echo Valley Country Club for generously hosting this year’s Herman Sani Tournament.

Complete Results