So, who is going to win the 19th edition of the TrueNorth Cedar Rapids Open, presented by Granite City Food & Brewery?
Well, there are the obvious suspects.
Paul Apyan, the 2015 champ, has only been in the lead of the tournament in five of the last eight rounds. The talented and likeable guy from Chattanooga, TN, who has had his ups and downs on the PGA LatinoAmerica developmental tour, might have made it two straight titles last year but ballooned to a 2-over 74 in the last round and tied for sixth. Albeit he took risk on the 17th hole and it cost him. But he led wire-to-wire in 2015 and has to be considered one of the favorites even though he didn’t make the cut at last week’s Waterloo Open.
“I don’t have anything to report, good or bad,” said Apyan. “Just keep grinding away.”
Apyan shot a 10-under 62 in last year’s second round, only the fourth time that has been done in the GCRO and only one off the competitive record.
Derek Lamely (Ft. Myers, FL) has won a PGA Tour event (the 2010 Puerto Rico Open) a Nationwide, now Web.com event and has already won the GCRO twice, one of two players to accomplish that. So, maybe trying to resurrect a once promising career after several thumb surgeries and some spotty play, he’s back. He missed the cut by one stroke at Waterloo, but the guy played on the PGA Tour. The only golfer to win both the Waterloo Open and the GCRO in the same year, classify him among the favorites.
Steve Friesen (Cave Creek AZ), 40, also has a Web.com Tour title to his name, winning the 2011 Price Cutter Charity Classic. Friesen, a contender here in his early pro years, also won the Waterloo Open (2003) as well as the Utah, New Mexico and Nevada opens. He missed the cut here last year and also missed the cut at Waterloo last week, but doesn’t he have to be in the talk when it comes to contenders? We think so.
As far as who is carrying some momentum into the GCRO, the guy who won last week’s Waterloo Open is always on top of the list. Austin Quick, an Arizona State grad who turned professional in the fall of 2014, brings his $50,000 first-place winnings to Hunters Ridge. Quick (Scottsdale, AZ), who finished T15 here in 2015, has been playing on the PGA MacKenzie Tour (Canada) this year.
Quick beat Zach Wright (Stuart, FL) by two strokes last week in Waterloo.
Wright placed T26 here last year and has played in seven Web.com events this year, making the cut in one. The LSU grad, who is a native of Arizona, just turned pro last year.
Former University of Iowa standout Brad Hopfinger (Chicago, IL), Brian Richey (Lakeland, FL) and Nathan Stamey (Bluffton, SC) were three of the four golfers that tied for third at Waterloo and figure to contend here.
Hopfinger, who was T11 in 2013 and T40 in 2012 at the GCRO, is one of five former Hawkeyes in the field. The 2011 grad, who has played on the Web.com Tour, will be joined by Steven Ihm (T9 in 2015), Nate Yankovich, 2017 grad Carson Schaake and 2015 grad Brian Bullington.
Richey, a Florida Southern grad, has four Top10 finishes in the PGA LatinoAmerica Tour this year and almost $29,000 in earnings. He finished fifth in a Web.com Tour event as a rookie pro in 2015.
Stamey qualified for the PGA Tour’s Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation about three weeks ago but missed the cut. He also played in the Wyndham Championship in 2011.
Among others to watch include Joseph Juszczyk (Dearborn Heights, MI), Matthew Jennings (Prairie City, IA) and Eric Steger (Fishers, IN).
This is Juszczyk’s sixth straight GCRO and he has three Top 10s including a fifth-place finish in 2015.
Jennings is the highest returning finisher from last year. He tied for second after missing the cut in both 2015 and 2014. Defending champ Seth Fair is competing on the Web.com Tour.
Seeger might have the most potential of the three. He has played in nine Web.com events this year, making the cut in two. While he missed the cut last year here – very uncharacteristic – he has two Top 10s in four appearances at Hunters. He finished sixth in 2015 and T8 in 2012. Someone to watch.
The tournament kicks off at 7 a.m. Thursday. Second round action is Friday and the 54-hole tournament concludes Saturday.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]