2008 Iowa PGA Junior Tour Championship

 

Steven Ihm knew he had work left to do. Trouble is he didn’t have much time left to get it done. Trailing Braden Gaal of Washington by two shots with two holes to play during Tuesday’s final round of the Iowa Section PGA Junior Tour Championship at Spirit Hollow Golf Course, Ihm had little margin for error.  Ihm rose to the occasion, ramming home a pair of 20-foot birdie putts to force a playoff.

Ihm then birdied the first playoff hole to capture the Boys 16-18 division crown. Ihm need not worry about qualifying for the Dubuque Wahlert High School team. His victory virtually assured him a spot on the team and a place in the history book. “This feels pretty good,” Ihm said. “I wasn’t really hitting the ball very good, but boy was I scoring.”

Also winning titles were Dillon Patritto of Ottumwa in Boys 11-under, Cassie Wang of Urbandale in Girls 13-under, Eric Krull of Buffalo Center in Boys 12-13, Tyler Smith of Oskaloosa in Boys 14-15, Taylor Sprank of Bettendorf in Girls 14-15 and Katie Purcell of Ames in Girls 16-18. 

Gaal looked like he had the Boys 16-18 title wrapped up. He had a two-shot lead with two holes to play. That would have been nearly insurmountable in most cases, but Ihm had other ideas. Ihm kept his hopes alive by birdying the 389-yard, par-4 13th hole, ramming home a 20-foot putt. Then, on the 370-yard, par-4 14th hole, he was staring at another 20-foot birdie putt, this one to force a play. The ball found nothing but the bottom of the cup and just like that, Ihm and Gaal were heading back to the 376-yard, par-4 first hole for a playoff. 

The next two shots would ultimately determine the outcome. While Ihm put his tee shot down the middle of the fairway, Gaal found the heavy rough and trees left of the fairway. With Ihm looking at an easy second shot to the green, Gaal was forced to go for the green on his second shot. When the shot came up short, Ihm nailed down the win by sticking his approach shot to five feet. He knocked in the birdie putt for the win. “When I hit my drive down the middle, I think he thought he had to put it on the green with his second shot,” Ihm said. “It wasn’t too bad of a round. It was a very good day.” 

Purcell, who will be a junior at Ames High School this fall, took another step forward in her quest to become the best girls golfer in the state. She followed up her 2-over-par 74 on Monday with another 74 on Tuesday to win the Girls 16-18 title by 11 shots over Sarah Boss of Waterloo. Purcell won the title despite a rare triple-bogey on No. 14. She countered that with four birdies on the back nine. 

“I hit into the fescue, then left it in there with my next shot,” Purcell said. “Other than that, I felt I hit the ball pretty good. I was just really consistent throughout the course.”

While Purcell was happy with the win, she was even happier that two of her Ames teammates — Lauren Schwab and Erica Thompson — have also had big summers. Schwab finished seventh in the Girls 16-18 division, while Thompson won the Ames City Championship. “I think we are going to have a really good team,” Purcell said. “This gives me confidence going into the winter. It makes me want to go out and play even more.”

Sprank, who will be a sophomore at Davenport Assumption High School, carded the first eagle of her career to propel her to a three-shot victory over Susan Kirschenman of Huxley in the Girls 14-15 division. Sprank hit her drove down the middle on the 453-yard, par-5 second hole, then knocked a 7-iron from 155 yards out to 40 feet. She curled in the putt for the first eagle of her career. That jump-started her round and sent her on her way to victory. “I was really excited,” Sprank said. “I was a little nervous going out with the lead, but I just took it shot by shot and didn’t worry about anyone else.”

Smith finally got over the hump in a major event, carding a 76 in the final round to win the Boys 14-15 title by four shots over Blake Huser of Altoona. Smith, who trailed Huser by two shots after the first round, went to Burlington Golf Club Monday afternoon and played 18 more holes with his father. The extra practice paid off on Tuesday. Smith used a birdie on No. 3 to get his round started on a positive note.

“I was really pleased with the way I played today. I came back from two shots down to win by four,” Smith said. “This is my first win in a PGA major points event. I’ve come close before, I finished second two or three times and got third a couple times. This is the last tournament of the year, so it was nice to go out with a bang.” 

Krull used a pair of birdies to propel him to a five-shot win over Spencer Payne of Davenport in the Boys 12-13 division. Krull , who led Dylan Daxon of Taylor Ridge, Ill., by one shot entering the final round, knocked his approach shot from 140 yards to within five feet on the 365-yard, par-4 sixth hole and lipped out an eagle putt on No. 4 before tapping in for a birdie.   “I felt comfortable. I have played in many tournaments. I have the experience,” said Krull, who picked up his fifth win of the summer.

The season ending Junior Tour Championship was held Monday and Tuesday, August 11-12, 2008 at Spirit Hollow GC in Burlington, IA.  The Iowa PGA would like to thank Rob Higgins, head PGA Professional and Aaron Luttenegger, operations manager for hosting this Major Point Event on the Iowa PGA Junior Tour.  Each participant was again treated to great tee gifts both days courtesy of Brad Wuhs and Bridgestone Golf.  The Iowa PGA appreciates Brad and Bridgestone’s support these past two years.  The Iowa PGA would like to congratulate all juniors who participated in the 2008 Junior Tour, hope you all had a great summer, enjoy your fall and spring and good luck! 

2008 Iowa PGA Junior Tour Championship

Sponsored by

Brad Wuhs, Iowa PGA Sales Representative

 

From left to right:  Cassie Wang, Anna Cullinan, Brooke Bessine

 

From left to right:  Jared hoelzen, Jacob Luett, Dillon Patritto

 

Boys 11 & Under
	Round 1 Front 9	Round 2 Back 9	18-Hole Total
Dillon Patritto, Ottumwa, IA	49	46	95
Jacob Luett, Clinton, IA	47	52	99
Jared Hoelzen, W. Burlington, IA	55	56	111
Girls 13 & Under
	Round 1 Back 9	Round 2 Front 9	18-Hole Total
Cassie Wang, Urbandale, IA	41	40	81
Anna Cullinan, Bettendorf, IA	45	40	85
Brooke Bessine, Gladstone, IL	57	56	113

 

From left to right:  Steve Ihm, Braden Gaal, Kyle Menke

Boys 16-18
1st	Braden Gaal	Washington, IA	69	74	143
	Steven Ihm	Peosta, IA	70	73	143
3rd	Kyle Menke	Fairfield, IA	77	72	149
4th	Corbin Gardner	Ottumwa, IA	77	73	150
5th	Austin Teel	Davenport, IA	76	78	154
6th	Alex Hansche	Iowa City, IA	81	77	158
	Ryan Schlueter	Davenport, IA	75	83	158
8th	Andrew Hornick	Iowa City, IA	79	80	159
9th	Bennet Klostermann	Dyersville, IA	79	81	160
10th	William DeDoncker	Bettendorf, IA	80	81	161
	Evan Vandemore	Bettendorf, IA	81	80	161
12th	Owen Bell	Davenport, IA	80	82	162
13th	Keegan Bohn	Bettendorf, IA	79	84	163
14th	Derek Byrnes	Fairfield, IA	81	83	164
15th	Michael Maller	Davenport, IA	89	80	169
16th	Jacob Ward	Bettendorf, IA	91	92	183
17th	Isaac Brown	Robins, IA			NS
	Jordan Henry	Erie, IL			NS
	Chad Minard	Clive, IA			NS
	Christopher White	Washington, IA			NS

*Won sudden death playoff of 10th hole for victory. 

 

From left to right:  Ryan Gutz, Blake Huser, Tyler Smith

Boys 14-15
1st	Tyler Smith	Oskaloosa, IA	73	76	149
2nd	Blake Huser	Altoona, IA	71	82	153
3rd	Ryan Gutz	Storm Lake, IA	75	79	154
4th	Alex Thode	Washington, IA	82	73	155
5th	Tyler Granneman	Ottumwa, IA	75	82	157
6th	Tyler Gunderson	Lisbon, IA	79	81	160
7th	Kyle Cave	Solon, IA	82	81	163
8th	Chad Hatch	Burlington, IA	88	76	164
9th	Cody Palmer	Ottumwa, IA	81	87	168
10th	Christian Archer	Ottumwa, IA	85	91	176
	Matt Schlueter	Davenport, IA	85	91	176
12th	Dillon de Perrot	Washington, IA	97	88	185
13th	Kristopher Millard	New London, IA	94	94	188
14th	Micah Alden	New London, IA			WD
	Austin Young	Muscatine, IA			NS
16th	Ian Tucker	Swisher, IA	88		NS
17th	Ryan Maske	Iowa City, IA	91		WD

 

From left to right:  Dylan Daxon, Spencer Payne, Eric Krull

Boys 12-13
1st	Eric Krull	Buffalo Center, IA	75	76	151
2nd	Spencer Payne	Davenport, IA	79	77	156
3rd	Dylan Daxon	Taylor Ridge, IL	76	82	158
4th	Patrick Grasso	Ankeny, IA	82	80	162
	Harrison Moore	Cedar Rapids, IA	78	84	162
6th	Eric Rock	Oakland, IA	81	83	164
7th	Corbin Blythe	Williamsburg, IA	84	82	166
8th	Drew Slings	Williamsburg, IA	84	84	168
	Britton Vander Linden	Indianola, IA	86	82	168
10th	Carson Whittington	Creston, IA	87	82	169
11th	Walter DeDoncker	Bettendorf, IA	86	91	177
	Zach Denny	Cedar Rapids, IA	95	82	177
13th	Will Wallace	Moline, IL	96	89	185
14th	Samuel Goodson	Indianola, IA	90	98	188
15th	Nick Ward	Bettendorf, IA	100	107	207
16th	Walter Davies	west des moines, IA	101		WD

 

From left to right:  Susan Kirschenman, Victoria Grasso, Taylor Sprank

Girls 14-15
1st	Taylor Sprank	Bettendorf, IA	81	80	161
2nd	Susan Kirschenman	Huxley, IA	84	80	164
3rd	Victoria Grasso	Ankeny, IA	94	84	178
4th	Megan Furnish	Cedar Rapids, IA	92	87	179
	Taylor Hill	Council Bluffs, IA	95	84	179

 

From left to Katie Purcell, Sara Boss, Hailey Sheldahl 

Girls 16-18
1st	Katie Purcell	Ames, IA	74	74	148
2nd	Sarah Boss	Waterloo, IA	83	76	159
3rd	Hailey Sheldahl	Ottumwa, IA	79	81	160
4th	Alexandra Curry	Shenandoah, IA	81	80	161
5th	Alex Zenor	Cedar Rapids, IA	85	77	162
6th	Jaci Thode	Washington, IA	82	83	165
7th	Lauren Schwab	Ames, IA	85	84	169
8th	Brenna Haskins	Davenport, IA	83	94	177
9th	Ashley Hogenson	Muscatine, IA	95	89	184
10th	Meagan Bewley	Davenport, IA			NS