You could look at the TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by Granite City Food & Brewery, one of two ways. It could be either a case of a second helping, or maybe it’s the case of a second chance.
In any event, the 17th edition of the GCRO tees off Thursday morning with more than 115 pros on hand, the largest field in recent history. A total of 18 amateurs will also tee it up at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion in what should be three dandy days of golf.
Helped by the three-year commitment from Cedar Rapids-based TrueNorth as the title donor, a GCRO record $22,000 will go into the winner’s pocket when all is said and done Saturday afternoon in the 54-hole event.
A second helping could be in store for two returning GCRO champions.
Mark Blakefield, who has kicked around on the Web.com Tour some, totally outclassed the field last year in posting a record nine-shot win. The 32-year-old University of Kentucky graduate posted an 18-under par 198. He kicked off his week with a 9-under-par 63 on the first day of the tournament. The booming Blakefield went wire to wire in his first GCRO appearance.
Blakefield ranks 26th in the SwingThought.com Tour money rankings, winning $16,287 in just five events, the last of those at the end of April. He tied for second at the Ocala/Marion County Classic at Ocala National in Florida at the beginning of April.
Blakefield has played in one Web.com Tour event this year, the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex. He was only two shots out of the lead heading into the final round in May, but shot a 76 and finished 26th. The winner got $121,500. That hurt.
Last year, Blakefield played in two Web.com events, making the cut once. For his career, Blakefield has played nine Web.com events, has one top 25 and four made cuts. He played in the 2014 Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour, but did not make the cut. Last weekend, Blakefield struggled and missed the cut at the mini-tour prestigious Waterloo Open, a tournament he won in 2013.
A local favorite, Sean McCarty, the head pro at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, is an annual participant in the GCRO. He could have a second winner’s helping too. The Solon resident won the 2009 GCRO and has placed in the top 20 four times, including a fourth-place finish in 2013. McCarty has been an Iowa PGA Section Player of the Year multiple times, won the Iowa Open three times and also won the Waterloo Open.
As far as second chances, we have plenty of those. Five golfers who either finished solo runner-up or tied for second in each of the last five GCROs are entered.
Returning is Wake Forest grad Justin Bryant (St. Louis, Missouri), who tied with two others for second last year behind Blakefield. Bryant has played well here, finishing T11 in 2013. Of note, one of the golfers Bryant tied with last year, Oklahoma State product Jonathan Moore, played in the British Open this past weekend at St. Andrews. He qualified for the Open out of a Malaysian Tour event.
Justin Hueber (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), playing for his fourth straight year here, is one to keep an eye on. He took second in 2013, losing by one shot to Chris Baker. He was T23 in 2012 and 10th last year. But he’s been gaining experience. Competing on the PGA’s LatinoAmerica Tour this year, Hueber won the 57Abierto Mexicano de Golf event in May, winning $31,500. He played in eight events, making the cut in five, and had two Top 10s.
After skipping the GCRO last year, 2012 runner-up Seth Fair (Brownsburg, Indiana) returns. Like Hueber, a grad of the University of Indianapolis, Fair currently ranks fifth in money winning on the SwingThought.com Tour with just over $32,000. Fair tied for second last month in the Cutter Creek Classic in North Carolina. Fair, who failed to make the cut at Waterloo last weekend, tied for 22nd here in 2013. He has made the cut in all three Web.com events he has played in, including one earlier this year.
Also back is Tommy Bliefnick (Decatur, Illinois), who has struggled somewhat since tying for second here in 2011 in his first pro event, but he continues to chase his dream of playing on the PGA Tour.
Mini-tour veteran Greg O’Mahony (Tequesta, Florida) keeps battling for his shot at the big time. He placed second in the 2010 GCRO to Andy Winings. He’ll be back after tying for 11th each of the last two years.
Among others to watch this week include Eric Steger (Carmel, Indiana). He was T33 last year at the GCRO but is playing well and is coming off a second-place finish at Waterloo ($19,700) after taking the lead into the final round. He played four events on the PGA LatinoAmerica Tour this year with one Top 25 and two cuts made.
Former University of Iowa standout Steven Ihm, who cashed last year at the John Deere Classic, is coming off a third-place finish at Waterloo which earned him $11,000. Ihm tied for 24th at Hunters Ridge last year.
Of the top 27 money-winners last weekend at Waterloo, nine head to Marion and Hunters Ridge. Besides Steger and Ihm, Joshua Manske (Algona, Iowa,) Brett Melton (Washington, Indiana) and Zach Steffen (Des Moines, Iowa) all tied for 10th. Other notable locals include Linn-Mar High School golf coach Bill Hoefle, who has a fifth and two seventh-place finishes in eight starts at the GCRO. Ryan Schrimper, who was T29 last year as an amateur, competes this year as a professional.
The tournaments tees off a little after 7 on Thursday morning off both tees and continues Friday. After a second-round cut, the final round is Saturday with an awards ceremony following at approximately 4 p.m.
Admission is free and spectators are welcome.