The wind bothered a lot of players Thursday in the opening round of the of the 20thannual TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Classic, presented by Granite City Food & Brewery.
It apparently didn’t bother University of Iowa grad Brian Bullington.
The Frankfort, Ill. native overcame winds gusting in access of 20 mph at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion and posted a most impressive 5-under par 67 to take a two-shot lead into today’s second round.
Bullington went off in the afternoon wave of players and they faced the worst conditions of the day.
“The key to (the) round for me was patience,” said Bullington. “It was playing very difficult with the wind and pin positions. I struck the ball solid all day and was able to kick start my round with an eagle on the 2nd (his 11th.). After that, I was able to roll in some putts on my last few holes and post a good opening round.
“There’s still a lot of golf left to play, but I’m very pleased to be in this position. I’m going to continue to play the way I played (Thursday) and keep my mindset the same – patience and trusting myself.”
Bullington, who has played in two John Deere Classics and earlier this year competed in seven PGA LatinoAmerica events, had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys. He did not make a cut in the LatinoAmerica events and in 2016 played 15 events on that tour. The former Hawkeye golfer tied for 39thlast year here at the GCRO.
He went through same changes since coming back and they seem to be working.
“Seems like the golf is turning around,” he said.
He leads a group of six other golfers who are at 3-under 69. That group includes last year’s runner-up Michael Davan (Zionville, IN) and Web.com Tour vet Ryan Sullivan (Winston Salem, NC). Davan also posted his score during the day’s toughest conditions.
A total of 13 players are at -2 including 2009 GCRO champ Sean McCarty.
Marshall Gavre (Grinnell, IA) leads the Senior Division at 3-under-par. Cory Schultz is in second.
Max Thrune was fantastic in the windy conditions and posted a 1-under-par 71 to lead the Amateur Division by five shots.
Play continues Friday. Approximately the top 50 and ties advance to Saturday’s final round.
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