Steffen, Ihm chasing leader at Greater Cedar Rapids Open

MARION – A glance at the Iowa golfers on the first round leaderboard of the Greater Cedar Rapids Open golf tournament reveals a bit of a Cy-Hawk flavor.

Former Iowa State golfer Zach Steffen overcame a pair of early bogeys for a 4-under par 68, while Iowa alumnus Steven Ihm used four birdies to close at 69 Thursday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

'I played solid,” Steffen said. 'I made seven birdies. I didn't play the par fives very well, so I left some shots out there to make up tomorrow. Overall, I really thought I played well and I putted really well today.”

As an Iowa State senior in 2014, Steffen helped the Cyclones qualify for the NCAA men's golf tournament for the first time in 60 years. Ihm was the first Hawkeye named to the all-conference golf team three times.

Both golfers completed their collegiate careers in 2014 and are now cutting their teeth as professionals. Ihm made his pro debut in the 2014 John Deere Classic, while Steffen competed in the same tournament two weeks ago.

Steffen will begin Friday's second round tied for 11th, while Ihm is tied for 18th.

'I played pretty well,” Ihm said. 'I didn't make any long putts. I had some good saves that were needed, but I just need to make more birdies.”

The entire field is in dogged pursuit of fifth-year professional Paul Apyan of Chattanooga, Tenn. Apyan blistered the course with eight birdies and an eagle for a 9-under par 63, good for sole possession of first place after the first round.

'I was just kind of playing along,” Apyan said. 'It was fun. We had a good group. Everybody was chatting along. That's my specialty. I put sunscreen on my tonsils in the morning.”

Had it not been for a three-putt on his final hole, Apyan could have made it a whopping 10 strokes under par.

'My college coach, I know he's in Mississippi shaking his head,” said Apyan, who golfed collegiately at Southern Mississippi. ''You always leave your lag putt short, Apyan!' I'm going to have to call him.”

Apyan's afternoon just managed to outdo the morning round from former Arizona State golfer Austin Quick, who carded a 64 with a consistent split of 32 on both the front and back nine holes.

'I've just been working a lot on the putting and it all just came together today,” Quick said.

Linn-Mar golf coach Bill Hoefle matched Quick with a 32 midway through his round and finished tied with Steffen at 68.

Mark Blakefield of Maysville, Ky. – who won last year's tournament by a record nine strokes and led after all three rounds – is six shots back at 69.

The second round tees off at 7:15 a.m. Friday.

2015 GREATER CEDAR RAPIDS OPEN

At Hunters Ridge Golf Course, par 72

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

63 - Paul Apyan

64 - Austin Quick

65 - Joseph Juszczyk, Brandon Cauldwell, Brian Anderson, Eric Steger, Thomas Buran

67 - Andy Buege, Justin Bryant

68 - Zach Steffen, Maxwell Cohen, Cody Strange, Patrick Sheehan, Bill Hoefle

69 - Steven Ihm, Ryan Buerk, Mark Blakefield, Jimmy Lytle, Alexander Medinis, Drew Imel, Andrew Rauscher, Blake Isakson, Brent Quade

70 - Adam Schenk, Greg O'Mahony, Craig Isabel, Ryan Kiewiet, Robb Taylor, Joshua Manske, Calvin Pearson, Justin Hueber, Matt Miller, Britt Pavelonis

71 - Andrew Wegeng, Sam Osborne, Mitchell Gregson, Tyler Dice, Blanton Farmer, Tyler Neff, Matthew Jennings, Luke Slaymaker, Seth Fair, Jeffery Kellen

72 - Kurt Slattery, Gabe Ross, Jon Jozefowski, Greg Kopf, Trent Sanders, Brent Blaum, David Haley Jr., Ryan Schrimper, Michael Sainz, Justin Regier, Matthew Rau, Brett Melton, Eric Cole, Curtis Yonke

73 - Jordan Payne, Clint Keown, Collin Neeman, Nicholas Olsgaard, Paul Jacobsen, Dane Worley, Erik Downs, Tim Beth, Willie Mack, Tim Crouch, Dylan Jackson, John Jackson, Alex McMahon

74 - Peter Lamaris, David Rose, Charlie Harrison, Josh Bousman, Taylor Koser, Nate Barbee, Oscar Sachs

75 - Rodney Hamblin, Patrick Newcomb, McCormick Clouser, Zachary Hammerberg, Sean Barrett, Johnny Gullberg, Tommy Bliefnick, Justin Imel

76 - Zechariah Potter, Kelly King, Daniel Charen, Dave Schultz, Daniel Zimmerman, Jack Newman

77 - Ryan Sperry, Dustin Miller, Jonathan Tink, Steve Sowards, Jeremy Sanders, Nic Goodin, Peter Badawy, Brad Klapprott

78 - Ryan Marks, Derek Rende, Loren Jeglum, Kevin Gillick, Sean McCarty

80 - Apo Tsolakis, Jason Gandy

83 - Michael Dominick

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com