With two former champs in the field, you might say you have your favorites to capture this week’s 20thannual TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by Granite City Food and Brewery.
But to steal a line from Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friends!”
Sure, 2015 champ Paul Apyan (Chattanooga, TN) and 2009 winner Sean McCarty (Solon, IA) are certainly in the mix of those who might have their name on that big $30,000 check when all is said and done Saturday after at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion. But there are plenty others who plan on having something to say about who gets handed the inaugural Bob Brooks-Sam Farner TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open Memorial trophy.
McCarty is playing well again, evident by him making the cut at the PGA’s John Deere Classic a couple weeks ago and his T7 at the Waterloo Open this past weekend. The likeable Brown Deer Golf Course head pro always brings a nice following with him to Hunters. He is playing in the GCRO for the first time since 2015 when he had to withdraw with back issues.
McCarty owns four Top 20 finishes at Hunters, including a fourth-place finish in 2013, a T16 in 2012 and a T20 in 2010.
Apyan won wire-to-wire in 2015 after almost giving up the game, then was in the hunt on the final day of 2016 before settling for T6. He uncharacteristically missed the cut last year.
A veteran of 44 PGA LatinoAmerica events, Apyan and his wife Leah now have two boys at home, one 3 and the other 4 months, about the age the first one was when Paul captured the ’15 crown.
With two children, Apyan and his bride decided a steady stream of income was needed so he had to go job searching – in a special way.
“If I could get (a job) and keep playing, then great, but we had to consider everything going forward,” Apyan said in an email. “Fortunately, I found a job where I can work from anywhere in the world as long as I have internet access. I’m a freight broker, so I call on businesses and see if they need any help with shipping anything larger than a pallet.”
He’ll have plenty of familiar faces around him this weekend. Through word of mouth, Apyan is bringing five other Chattanoogans to the GCRO this year.
Apyan, who finished T43 in Waterloo, doesn’t have much on his golf schedule coming up unless something good happens.
“Right now I only have (Web.Com) Q-school and a small tour in Atlanta on the schedule, but things could obviously change.”
Four of the top eight and nine of the top 21 money-winners from Waterloo will be at Hunters Ridge. Not on hand will be Richard Schembechler (Memphis, TN), who won the $50,000 cash prize at Waterloo.
However, two golfers who tied for third, losing by two shots, will be on hand this week: Scott Smyers (Lakeland, Fla.) and Nathan Stamey (Bluffton, SC). They each earned $9,000.
Smyers played on two NCAA Division II national championship teams at Barry University. He once beat fellow GCRO competitor Hunter O’Mahony in the NCAA Match Play finals. A 2014 graduate, Smyers has seven PGA LatinoAmerica starts under his belt, but just one this year. He earned PING All-America honors twice, first team as a junior and third team as a senior.
Stamey lost in a playoff earlier this year for a spot in the U.S. Open. The 32-year-old finished T34 here last year. He has played in at least four Web.Com Tour events, one this year, but failed to make the cut.
Michael Visacki (Sarasota, FL) has done well on the West Florida Golf Tour and shot a 59 last year on the Moonlight Golf Tour. He finished sixth at Waterloo and picked up $5,750. Like Symers, this is Visacki’s first trip to the GCRO.
Brant Peaper was T9 in Waterloo and returns to Hunters Ridge after not playing last year. He finished T16 in 2016. He has two Web.Com Tour starts and 29 on the Mackenzie Tour, the PGA’s developmental tour in Canada.
There are plenty of others to watch too this week. Defending GCRO champ Grant Leaver is battling his way on the Web.com Tour, but last year’s runner-up Michael Davan (Zionville, IN) is back. Davan, who finished T16 in 2016, is a strong candidate. He has a 4thand a T5 on the LatinAmerica Tour this year and had a second and a third last year and ranked 25thin money winnings on the same tour. He played 10 LatinoAmerica events in 2016, played in the 2015 U.S. Open and has three Web.com events to gain experience from.
Mitchell Homb (O’Fallon, IL) was one shot out of the lead after two rounds last year but shot a 2-over 74 on the last day and ended up T8. Homb tied the competitive course record of 11-under 61 in last year’s second round and certainly has the tools to get the job done.
Former University of Iowa golfer Carson Schaake (Omaha, NE) tied for third here last year and is back for another try and a Hawkeye teammate, Nate Yankovich, played in the final group at the GCRO last year but settled for T13. He was T48 in 2016.
After two finishes in the 30-somethings in 2015 and ‘16, Craig Isabel (Winona Lake, IN) is back after a T8 last year.
Spence Fulford (Davenport, FL) has shown he has what it takes after a T4 here in 2016. He’s back after a T23 last year and finishing T15 at Waterloo.
Matthew Jennings (Prairie City, IA) is back for another crack. He tied for second here in 2016 behind champ Seth Fair, who is now on the Web.com Tour. He was T30 last year at GCRO and played but missed the cut in 2015 and 2014..
Joshua Manske (Algona, IA), David Cooke (Bolingbrook, IL) and newcomer Chris Gilman (Yorba Linda, CA) are among those others who could also figure into the mix.
First round play begins at 7 a.m. Thursday and continues with the second round on Friday. After a cut, the final round will be held Saturday with the leaders going off at approximately 11 a.m. The awards ceremony is set to begin about 4:30 p.m.
Admission is free all weekend.