By Rick Brown, Des Moines Register

In Sean McCarty’s perfect world, a golf course would play to a par of 90. Every hole would be a par 5.

"That would be my dream golf course, I’ll tell you that," McCarty said after winning his third Iowa Open golf championship Saturday at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

McCarty finished three shots in front of Jason Knutzon after a final-round 74 and a 54-hole total of 9-under-par 210. McCarty also collected a first-prize check of $5,482.

Known for his prodigious length off the tee, McCarty was 11 under par for the championship on the South Course’s five par-5 holes.

"It’s obviously a benefit if you can bomb them out there and keep them in play," said McCarty, 35, the head pro at Brown Deer in Coralville.

McCarty had two eagles and eight birdies on the 15 par-5 holes he played. He also had four pars and one bogey, when he lost his drive right on No. 16 during the second round and was penalized stroke and distance.

McCarty, who also won the Iowa Open in 1997 and 2005, added the title to the Herman Sani Invitational championship he won earlier this month.

McCarty won both with a heavy heart. His mother, Mary, died of cancer in December. His father, Mike, died of a heart attack in May.

"Every good shot I hit, I thank them," Sean said.

McCarty, a father of four, got some help from his 9-year-old daughter Grace, who rode in the golf cart with him all three days and showed a talent for filling divots.

"It was fun to have her along," he said. "When we were on No. 13, she already had drawn up a plan for me on No. 16. She said, ‘Let’s hit it down the middle, not over there by that house (like Friday).’ She was looking out for me."

McCarty started the final round with a three-shot lead over Knutzon and six over defending champion Jon Olson. All three spent most of the day treading water.

"It didn’t seem like any of us could get anything going," McCarty said.

Knutzon, who also closed with a 74 and won $4,386, came to the first tee in white pants his wife wanted him to wear.

"I ruined them on the first hole," Knutzon said.

His first drive went left, nearly landing in a creek. He tried to hit a shot from a soggy lie, knocked it in a hazard and stepped in the water after losing his balance. Knutzon made double bogey. McCarty three-putted for bogey.

McCarty’s lead fluctuated between three and five shots over Knutzon and Olson, who finished third at 215.

By Rick Brown, Des Moines Register

Rick Tegtmeier, the director of grounds at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club, was having lunch in the maintenance building Friday when he had an unexpected visitor.

"I looked up and there was Sean McCarty," Tegtmeier said.

McCarty tried to give his drive on the par-5 16th hole a little extra juice during the second round of the Iowa Open golf championship. The ball landed somewhere near the maintenance shop just off the 16th fairway of the South Course.

"I was just coming over to check on them and see what they were doing," McCarty joked.

McCarty never found his ball. The stroke-and-distance penalty led to his only bogey in an otherwise spectacular 6-under-par 67 that gave the 35-year-old pro a three-shot lead heading into today’s final round.

"For the most part, it was a good, solid round," said McCarty, whose closest pursuer is Jason Knutzon.

McCarty, who opened with a 69, is at 10-under 136.

"I drove it about as good as I can," McCarty said. "And then I tried to get a little greedy (on No. 16)."

Knutzon shot 70 after opening with a 69. Defending champion Jon Olson of Ankeny is in third, six shots back, after rounds of 68-74.

"I’ve got a chance to catch him," said Knutzon, 32, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. "Ten-under is a good score for him, and I’m sure he’s happy. I’m happy with 7-under. Hopefully we’ll have a good match (today)."

McCarty, who successfully defended his Herman Sani Invitational title earlier this month, is trying to win a third Iowa Open. He also claimed the title in 1997 and 2005.

He’s moved into a commanding position this week because of his dominance on the par-5 holes.

McCarty played the South Course’s five par-5 holes in 5-under par during Thursday’s first round. He was 4-under par on the three front-nine par-5 holes Friday – two birdies and an eagle on No. 8.

But it was an uncharacteristic back nine for McCarty. He parred the par-5 13th hole and then bogeyed No. 16 after his wayward drive.

"I was trying to cut it around the corner hard and get it way down there," McCarty said.

He interrupted Tegtmeier’s lunch instead.

"He hit one in my shop," Tegtmeier said.

Knutzon has a hill to climb, but he’s not backing down from the challenge.

"I’d rather be three up," Knutzon said. "I’m sure he’s had many three-shot leads. I’ve had a few myself. It is different playing with the lead. We’ll just have to go play golf."

"Everything set up perfectly for full swings," Olson said.

His best example came at the par-3 15th hole, where Olson hit a 5-iron to 2 inches and tapped in for birdie.

Olson started his round on the back nine and had five birdies in the first seven holes. He shot 32 on the back nine after a bogey at the 17th, then came home in 36 with two more birdies and a bogey.

McCarty, the Iowa Open winner in 1997 and 2005, played the South’s five par-5 holes in 5 under par.

"Thank God for par-5s," said McCarty, who was paired with Olson.

McCarty eagled No. 13 with a driver, a 5-iron and a 20-foot putt. He also birdied three of the other four par-5s. McCarty had just one bogey, at No. 18.

Knutzon was playing his first competitive round since missing the cut at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., the second week of July. The Altoona pro had surgery on his left shoulder in May.

"I’m probably at 80 percent," said Knutzon, 32.

Knutzon said that he worked so hard to get ready for his PGA Tour opportunity that he might have put too much strain on that shoulder.

He had a strain-free front nine Thursday, carding four birdies to make the turn in 4-under 33.

"I faltered a little bit coming in," Knutzon said. "I got it to 5 under after No. 11, but I didn’t birdie either of the downwind par-5s (13, 16) coming in and made a bogey at the (par-3) 17th."

Knutzon has won twice on the Asian Tour, and he plans to return there this fall.

"My wife (Rustina) is expecting in a few weeks," Knutzon said. "I’ll return to Asia a few weeks after that, assuming everything is OK."

Knutzon will return from Asia for the first stage of qualifying for the PGA Tour in late October.

The Iowa Open field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties after today’s second round. The final round will be played Saturday.

IOWA CITY – 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson will headline an exhibition at the University of Iowa’s Finkbine Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 12, that will raise funds for disaster relief across the state of Iowa.

The Zach Johnson Iowa Disaster Relief Challenge presented by AEGON USA will feature Johnson, a native of Cedar Rapids and a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Chris DiMarco, and Quad Cities-area native Todd Hamilton in a nine-hole challenge that will also feature three of professional golf’s rising stars.

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