Grant Leaver second Tennessean in 3 years to win Greater Cedar Rapids Open golf tournament

MARION — For the second time in three years, the Smoky Mountains reign at the Greater Cedar Rapids Open.

Second-round leader Grant Leaver held off a hard-charging group of golfers with birdies on two of the final four holes, finished 17-under par and won the 19th annual tournament by three strokes Saturday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

'I was just playing against myself today because I haven't been striking the ball well,' said Leaver, 31. 'Any time you're competing to win a tournament, it's going to be a grind, but especially when you are not hitting it well. So I didn't know what to expect today. I knew if I gave myself some chances with the putter I would be able to roll a few in. That's what I did, so, mission accomplished.'

Leaver, 31, is the second Tennessean to win the GCRO in three years. The Centerville, Tenn., native joins 2015 champion Paul Apyan of Chattanooga.

Leaver birdied four of the first 11 holes and opened up a three-shot advantage over former University of Iowa golfer Carson Schaake, but consecutive bogeys at holes 12 and 13 cut the lead to a single stroke. The 10-year professional rallied with birdies on 15 and 16 and suddenly, the margin was three with two holes to play.

'When you're not feeling very comfortable, you can't beat yourself up about a bogey,' Leaver said. 'I had two bad ones in a row, but I was fortunate to put a few good swings together over the next couple of holes. I gave myself some looks at birdie and I rolled them in.'

Leaver parred the final two holes and posted a 69 for the final round, which delivered the championship and a check for $25,000.

Michael Davan (Zionsville, Ind.) birdied seven holes and finished alone in second place at 14-under par.

'The people you had in this field were a lot of good players,' Leaver said. 'Winning out here, just with the field that you had, is going to give you confidence no matter who you are.'

Schaake, 22, was one of three golfers (Zach Wright, Brian Richey) tied for third at 13-under par in just his second professional event since graduating from Iowa earlier this year.

'Overall, I played really solid,' said Schaake, who finished tied for 13th last weekend at the Waterloo Open in his pro debut. 'I made a lot of putts on the front nine and early on the back nine. I felt really good with my game and I'm real excited for where I'm going.'

Schaake had perhaps the best chance to topple Leaver late in the round, but could not convert makeable birdie putts at 15 and 16, then bogeyed the final hole.

Fellow Iowa alums Brad Hopfinger and Nate Yankovich placed eighth and 13th, respectively.

Scott Pieri of Fort Wayne, Ind., shot 12-under par and won the senior professional division by five strokes. Mount Mercy junior William Bruyeres claimed the amateur crown with an even-par performance, two strokes ahead of recent Linn-Mar graduate Andrew Wood.

GREATER CEDAR RAPIDS OPEN

At Marion

(Hunters Ridge G.C., par 72)

FINAL RESULTS

1. Grant Leaver 67-63-69—130

2. Michael Davan 67-67-68—202

T3. Zach Wright 68-67-68—203

T3. Brian Richey 67-68-68—203

T3. Carson Schaake 68-67-68—203

T6. Edward Olson 70-69-65—204

T6. Brandon Crick 69-67-68—204

T6. Scott Pieri 65-68-71—204

T9. Eric Steger 72-68-65—205

T9. Brad Hopfinger 71-68-66—205

T9. Craig Isabel 69-69-67—205

T9. Wes Gosselin 66-71-68—205

T9. Mitchell Homb 70-61-74—205

T14. Jake Tucker 73-68-65—206

T14. Joshua Manske 74-66-66—206

T14. Anthony Maccaglia 68-71-67—206

T14. David Cooke 67-71-68—206

T14. Derek Lamely 70-67-69—206

T14. Nate Yankovich 68-66-72—206

T20. David Rose 66-73-68—207

T20. Michael Balcar 69-70-68—207

T20. Kyle Kochevar 69-69-69—207

T20. Conner Godsey 72-65-70—207

T24. Greg O'Mahony 70-70-68—208

T24. Cole Wilcox 73-66-69—208

T24. Spence Fulford 68-70-70—208

T24. Emerson Newsome 66-72-70—208

T24. Austin Quick 69-68-71—208

T24. Tim Crouch 69-67-72—208

T24. Ryan Argotsinger 63-71-74—208

T31. Matthew Jennings 72-69-68—209

T31. Austin Jordan 71-69-69—209

T31. Matt Mankin 70-70-69—209

T31. Andy Winings 70-67-72—209

T31. Peter Creighton 68-67-74—209

T36. Chris Black 67-74-69—210

T36. Travis Kreiter 73-68-69—210

T36. Nathan Stamey 69-71-70—210

T36. Steve Friesen 70-70-70—210

T36. Clay Devers 68-70-72—210

T36. Jordan Elsen 72-66-72—210

T42. Joshua Udelhofen 72-69-70—211

T42. Brian Bullington 73-66-72—211

T42. Jay Monahan 70-67-74—211

45. Britt Pavelonis 69-71-72—212

T46. Cody Strang 70-71-72—213

T46. Josh Butterfield 69-71-73—213

T46. Michael Cromie 69-70-74—213

T49. McCormick Clouser 70-69-75—214

T49. Jared Bettcher 68-71-75—214

T51. Calvin Freeman 71-70-74—215

T51. Richie Schembechler 71-70-74—215

T51. Bobby Taggart 70-69-76—215

T54. William Bruyeres (a) 68-74-74—216

T54. Zach Gaugert 70-71-75—215

T54. Michael Keller 71-69-76—215

57. Andrew Wood (a) 77-67-74—218

T58. Jake Sevcik (a) 74-72-73—219

T58. Max Thrune (a) 75-69-75—219

T60. JD Goodfellow (a) 75-74-71—220

T60. Kevin Ault (a) 71-77-72—220

T62. Eddie Doyle (a) 73-76-72—221

T62. Kurt Slattery 71-70-70—221

64. Matt Junge (a) 78-66-79—223

T65. JD Schlotterback 78-74-74—226

T65. Brad Karpick (a) 74-75-77—226

67. Chuck Moran 75-73-79—227

68. Rob Dickerman (a) 78-71-79—228

69. David Narveson 75-75-79—229

70. Marshall Gavre 79-74-78—231

71. Marc Woodcock 83-83-82—248

72. Mark Lemon 85-82-86—253

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