Strong Starts Highlight Opening Round of 77th Herman Sani Tournament
The opening round of the Herman Sani Tournament held at Echo Valley Country Club is officially in the books. Nearly flawless playing conditions fared well for the field, and a few players took advantage to climb atop the leaderboard.
Sharing the Open Division lead with a pair of stellar 66’s (-6) is Calen Bishop (right) of Johnston and Grant Smith of West Des Moines. Bishop took a commanding lead early in his round, firing a 30 (-6) on the front nine alone.
“I really just tried to play like I was even-par on each hole today,” Bishop shared. “Heading into tomorrow I’m just going to keep hitting fairways and greens and continue to give myself good looks.”
Smith also got off to a hot start, rattling off four birdies on his front nine. After a string of pars on holes 10-14, Smith hopped back on the birdie train on the par-five 15th and the par-four 18th.
In the senior division, Johnston’s J.D. Anderson (left) leads the field after an opening 66 (-6) which was highlighted by seven birdies, four of which were made in his first five holes.
“I played pretty solid and steady most of the day,” mentioned Anderson. “I had some nice wedge shots that I stuck in close, so that was helpful.”
Following closely behind Anderson with a 68 (-4) is Echo Valley Country Club member Bill Matzdorff, of Cumming. Matzdorff scored five birdies on the day, which helped counter a lone bogey on the par-five ninth hole.
Leading the Super Senior Division with a 76 (+4) is Mark Gambaiana of Des Moines. After starting his opening nine with a 40 (+4), Gambaiana bounced back with an impressive 36 (E) on his second nine.
Following closely behind at +5 is the trio of Cedar Rapids’ Bill Sutton, Johnston’s Steve Jordan, and Gowrie’s Tom Schill.
With two more days of competition remaining, the tournament is still anyone’s game.