The second round of the Iowa Senior Amateur Championship tested players’ grit and resilience as they faced weather conditions contrary to the predicted forecast. Blue skies and sunshine were hard to come by amidst the rainy and cold elements today, but a few players prevailed to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

Navigating the elements and maintaining his lead in the senior division was J.D. Anderson (above) of Johnston. Anderson fired a solid 71 (-1) and was the only senior player under-par today.

“It was tough out there today,” expressed Anderson. “You had to be prepared to hit bad shots and accept what you get and just grind it out. It was really just about surviving.”

After collecting four birdies throughout the round, Anderson stretched his lead to a lofty six strokes and sits at -5 overall. Even with his comfortable position on the leaderboard, his game plan for tomorrow remains the same, “I really just plan to play my game and not look at the leaderboard,” Anderson shared. “The goal is to make pars and take the birdies as they come.”

Following Anderson at +1 overall was Chris Kramer of West Des Moines. Kramer posted a 75 (+3) today after stringing together a collection of pars paired with a lone birdie. Nate Dunn of Cedar Rapids also put himself in contention after firing a 72 (E) today to put him at +3 for the tournament.

A trio of players sit at +4 including Ben Peters of Bettendorf, Brian Rodman of Waukon, and Jon Brown of Adel. Peters rallied with two birdies in his last four holes to put himself in contention, while Brown countered his early bogeys with a few nice birdies on the back nine.

“I made a lot of clutch five, six-footers just to hang in there,” Brown noted. “The rough was really wet and thick so staying out of that was key today.”

In the super senior division, Dave Gaer (right) of Des Moines held onto his lead at +1 after shooting a steady 72 (E) today. Gaer made two bogeys on the day which were quickly canceled out by two clutch birdies.

“I hit a lot of greens today and kept it in the fairway, paired with a lot of close putts. I was really pleased with how I played today,” expressed Gaer. “Heading into tomorrow, the plan is to just play steady golf and hopefully throw a few more birdies up there.”

Joe Ward of Polk City made a nice comeback after shooting 71 (-1) to put him at +3 overall, two behind Gaer. After starting with an early double-bogey, Ward bounced back with four birdies to finish under-par.

“It was fun out there today,” Ward shared with a smile. “I had about an 18-footer on the last (hole) to shoot my age, but unfortunately I missed it. I’m still very pleased with how I played.”

Only 18 holes remain before our senior and super senior champions are crowned. Championship day is sure to be a fun one as players duke it out for the prestigious titles.

Complete Round Two Results