Dennis Bull takes 3-stroke lead at Iowa Amateur in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - All eyes were on Nate Dunn heading into the first day of the 115th Iowa Amateur Championship on Monday.

The Cedar Rapids native won the tournament last year, shooting a 4-under and even-par to win his third title.

Yet on Monday, it wasn't Dunn who led the way.

Norwalk native Dennis Bull shot a 7-under 65 to lead the way at the 115th playing of the championship at the Cedar Rapids Country Club, giving him a 4-shot lead.

'I just kept hitting quality shots, and it was a really enjoyable day of golf,” Bull said. 'It's kind of nice when you know where the ball is going. It's an easier game.”

Bull started out strong Monday morning, making birdie on two of his first five holes. Then, on the ninth hole, Bull sank a put to make eagle, giving him a 32 on the front nine and moving him to 4-under. He then birdied three of his final four holes to give him the commanding lead.

And while the 65 was garnering tremendous praise all around the clubhouse, Bull said he didn't do anything special. He just stayed calm and played his game.

'I was in control of my golf ball all day long,” Bull said. 'I just felt comfortable, hit a lot of quality shots and really just gave myself a lot of chances. I didn't make any long puts or anything like that, but I just gave myself a lot of chances.”

156 different golfers make up the field for the three-day tournament, and bring in a vast array of golfers from all across the state. Many high school players are in the tournament, including West Des Moines Valley's Ben Epperly, who committed to play next season at North Dakota State. Many collegiate golfers played, too, as Iowa State's Tripp Kinney and Conner Koberg and Iowa's Alex Moorman and Matthew Walker entered the field.

Playing against younger golfers, and then against some local pros and players like Dunn, Bull said, added to the challenge. Simply put, they get to hit the course much more frequently than he does.

'You just kind of know that those guys are very capable coming in,” Bull said. 'I'm 35 years old, and you just don't play as much as you used to or practice as much as you used to because you have a job and a family. Obviously those guys, that's what they're doing. They're playing golf all summer, and they're tough.”

The second round of the Amateur Championship will take place on Tuesday, and the top-60 golfers in the field will make the cut to advance to the final day of competition on Wednesday.

And in order for Bull to stay in the lead, he said he doesn't need to adjust anything major. After seeing how he fared against some of the stiffer competition, Bull said he's just happy to have a few shots to play with heading into the final two days.

'Honestly I think I need to just keep doing more of the same, keep giving myself chances,” Bull said. 'Having control of the golf ball, I feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty well and swinging within myself. But I think over the next few days, (if I) give myself a lot of looks at birdie, get a few to go in, I think I'll be all right.”

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