Michael Canfield captures Iowa City men’s golf amateur in playoff

IOWA CITY — Michael Canfield had to fight through soggy course conditions, a rain delay and a playoff to claim his first Iowa City Golf Association Men’s Amateur Championship Sunday at Pleasant Valley Golf Course in Iowa City.

The 28-year-old from North Liberty bested former ICGA Men’s Amateur Champion Ned Carter in a one-hole playoff. Canfield made what he estimated to be a 25-foot birdie putt to win the event by one stroke.

“It was down hill,” Canfield said in a post-round interview. “I wasn’t there this morning. I read the putt right. I just had a good feeling when I went up to it.

“I didn’t know I had it in the bag. But I felt pretty confident with it. I felt very confident with it.”

Canfield finished one group ahead of Carter, and he got to watch the former Mount Mercy golfer play the 18th hole.

As Carter registered a three-putt bogey on the 18th to drop into a tie for the tournament lead at 2-under-par, Canfield headed to the range to warm up for the playoff.

“It was a little nerve-wracking, not knowing what was going to happen,” Canfield said. “When I saw his shot in, I decided to grab a couple balls and go over to the range just to stay loose with the potential of a playoff.”

The playoff capped the 4-under-par 68 Canfield shot during the final round. He carded scores of 2-over-par 73 and even-par 72 in rounds one and two at Brown Deer Golf Club and Finkbine Golf Course, respectively. Canfield’s three-day total was 2-under-par 213.

The former Wartburg College golfer posted his under-par score in spite of poor weather conditions that proved pervasive throughout the three-round event. According to the National Weather Service, the heat index in Iowa City stretched as high as 110 degrees on Saturday. Canfield’s final round tee time was pushed back because of a rain delay.

“Hydration, hydration, hydration,” Canfield said of the strategy he implemented to beat the heat. “Keep drinking the water, that was the big thing. Just keeping my mindset positive. I’m gonna get through it, just one shot at a time. Just keep sipping on the water.”

The next event on Canfield’s calendar is the 2022 United States Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship in Erin Hills, Wis., Sept. 10-15.

He made the cut for the event by winning a qualifier at Geneva Golf and Country Club in Muscatine. Canfield won a four-man playoff to claim the tournament’s title. He has now won two events via playoff in the last week.

“It means so much,” Canfield said of his win Sunday. “Growing up here, playing in the Iowa City tournaments, winning a couple of those, then to finally get the Iowa City Amateur championship just feels awesome.”