Lindenman, Smith share lead at 75th Herman Sani Tournament
Unseasonably cool temperatures and a gusty northwest wind turned Friday’s first round of the 75th Herman Sani Tournament presented by Coppola Enterprises into a survival test.
No one broke 70 in the open division, and only five players managed to get around the Ridge and Creek nines at Echo Valley Country Club under par. Grant Smith and Trent Lindenman (above) shared the lead with 2-under-par 70s . Knotted at 71 were professional Chad Proehl , the 2013 Sani champion, and amateurs Jackson Overton and Andrew Johannsen.
The group at even-par 72 included Echo Valley member Denny Bull, the winner of the Northwest Amateur in Spencer last weekend.
The day’s only score in the 60s came in the senior amateur division. Ron Peterson, the 1999 Sani champion, had a 68 for a two-shot lead over Joe Palmer. Peterson finished with three birdies and a 33 on the Ridge nine coming home.
Another former Sani champion, Dave Gaer of West Des Moines, shot 70 and takes a four-shot lead in the super senior division into Saturday’s second round. Gaer, the Sani champion in 1977, had four birdies and two bogeys in his pacesetting round.
Making one of the best comebacks of the day in the open division was Cooper Hanson of Pleasant Hill, who is tied for ninth at 73. Hanson started his day on the Ridge and was 3 over par through four holes. But he played 2 under the par the rest of the way, including a birdie on the par-4 16th that was the toughest hole of the day statistically. The field averaged 4.79 shots on the demanding dogleg left par-4.
The Sani field averaged 79.9 strokes in the opening round – 40.33 on the front nine (Ridge) and 39.53 on the back nine (Creek).
Lindenman, playing in the final tee time of the day, started his round on the Creek and birdied the first two holes. He went to 3 under with another birdie at the 15th. He was the only player to get as low as 3 under all day.
“The birdie-birdie start got the round off on the right trail,” Lindenman said. “I was giving myself a lot of chances. I was just playing for the center of the green and went from there. I was hitting solid shots, and attacked when I could. I didn’t miss too many greens and I was able to get up and down on some holes.”
Lindenman gave two shots back with bogeys at No. 4 and No. 6, but closed his day with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole.
Smith had a relatively clean card, with just one bogey and three birdies on his 35-35 scorecard. Smith has been playing solid golf of late, tying for seventh at the Northwest Amateur last week.
Proehl didn’t have the fast start that Lindenman had, but rallied to get right in the mix for another Sani title. Starting on the Ridge, he bogeyed two of the first three holes. But he played 3 under par from there, including a birdie on his final hole. Johannsen and Overton both had two birdies and a single bogey on the day.
Defending Sani champion Hogan Hansen of Waverly is also hanging round in the Top 10 after a 73 as well.
The second round of the Sani Tournament starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The 54-hole championship, named for the longtime volunteer director of the Iowa Golf Association, concludes Sunday.
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