Chasing golf dreams at GCRO, ZJFC

The tournament golf season started last week in these parts with the 24th Greater Cedar Rapids Open.

It’s a great tournament for young professionals trying to find their way, find out if this is the how they want to live and play. Bouncing around from tournament to tournament, qualifier to qualifier, trying to make a living — or at least earn enough to keep that dream alive — can be a difficult journey.

That dream starts at a very young age for many, of course. And Monday marks the beginning of the annual Rotary Pribyl Junior Golf Classic in Cedar Rapids.

The boys’ open division kicks off its four-day run at Gardner Golf Course. The girls’ open and the girls’ and boys’ novice divisions start play on Tuesday at the Cedar Rapids Country Club. The tournament continues Wednesday at Hunters Ridge and wraps up Thursday at Elmcrest Country Club.

The best high school — and younger — players in our little neighborhood will be showcasing their talent and maybe igniting their dreams this week.

There’s also the “City Am” circuit later this week. The Cedar Rapids men’s open and senior tournaments, as well as the Iowa City men’s tournament, all begin Friday and wrap up Sunday.

Monday also marks the 13th Zach Johnson Foundation Classic at Elmcrest. Johnson, 47, was one of those junior golfers many years ago and won the GCRO in 2001 at the beginning of his dream’s journey.

A former Cedar Rapids Regis prep, Johnson went on to win 12 PGA tournament titles, capturing the Masters in 2007 and the British Open in 2015. At St. Andrews no less.

To date, Johnson has earned more than $48 million in a professional career that started in 2004. And later this year, he will captain the United States team at the Ryder Cup.

That’s a dream come true.

Will Dawson Jones, who collected his first win as a pro at the GCRO, follow a similar path? What about the 90 other pros who toured Hunters Ridge last week? What about those young golfers teeing it up this week at the junior classic?

Time, of course, will tell.

Today’s ZJF Classic may have some similar storylines in coming years. There’s no Scott Scheffler or Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm on this year’s list of professionals. Those three, for what it’s worth, are 1-2-3 in the world rankings.

There is Justin Thomas, who is ranked 24th in the world and has won two PGA Championships among his 15 tour wins. Thomas has been struggling of late, however, and missed the cut at this week’s 3M Classic in Blaine, Minn.

There’s also Jason Dufner, who has won five times on the Tour, including the 2013 PGA Championship. There’s Ryan Palmer with four victories in a nearly 20-year professional career.

But there’s also Adam Long and Richy Werenski, both with one PGA Tour victory. Werenski turned pro in 2017 and won the Barracuda Championship in 2020.

But for every Johnson, every Thomas and every Dufner, there are hundreds of Lachlan Barkers, Tripp Kinneys and Adam Schenks. Barker and Kinney are former Iowa State golfers trying to make it in the professional world. Barker ranks 1,589th in the world right now. Kinney just won $12,000 by placing second in the Greater Cedar Rapids Open.

Schenk appears to be an interesting player. The former Purdue golfer from Vincennes, Ind., joined the PGA Tour in 2018 and has made nearly $9 million.

He doesn’t have a win yet, but placed second at the Valspar Championship in March and lost in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. He was fourth at the John Deere Classic. And he ranks 46th in the world.

His dream, it seems, is on the upward trajectory.

So if you head out to Elmcrest today or spent some time last week at Hunters Ridge, you may have seen a struggling professional or a rising star.

Either way, enjoy the show — and the journey.

Comments: (319) 398-5861; jr.ogden@thegazette.com