Last year, the Western Printing Pro-Am was Kevin Stanek's first professional event.
This year, he leads after the first two rounds of the Western Printing Pro-Am at the Moccasin Creek Country Club.
The Bellevue, Neb., golfer carded a 3-under 69 on Saturday during the 22nd annual Western Printing Pro-Am. Stanek is 10-under going into today's final round. He was tied with Matthew Smith of Scottsdale, Ariz., after the first round as the two golfers fired 65s on Friday.
"I started hitting them really well off the tee this week," Stanek said. "I just kind of fought through some demons the last couple of weeks and figured it out on the range and started making some putts at the first tournament out at Bakker Crossing (in Sioux Falls) and kind of just took that through."
The former Creighton University golfer said the course was in pretty good shape on Saturday and said it was set up similar to Friday's round.
"I feel that it was pretty similar," Stanek said. "Pin positions were in good spots. It was scoreable and I just had to go out there and get it."
Smith, who is one shot behind Stanek, carded a 70 on Saturday. Jordan Elsen of Kenosha, Wis., is three shots off the lead. Last year's champion Paul Peterson of Salem, Ore., is tied for 14th with a 1-over 145. Stanek, Smith and Elsen will be in the final pairing today. They will tee off at 1:45 p.m.
Stanek, 23, tied for 16th in last year's Western Printing Pro-Am. Through the first two rounds last year, he had carded a 74 and a 69.
"I'm a lot more comfortable," Stanek said. "I was pretty nervous (last year), just because it was the first pro event."
How will Stanek approach today's final round?
"Just don't change anything and to follow through with another good round," he said.
Today's schedule
The three-day, 54-hole pro-am will conclude today.
The pro field was cut down from 50 golfers to 20 golfers for today's final round. The final 20 golfers will be competing for $68,560, including a first-place check for $15,000. The 150 amateurs will be playing for prizes worth more than $20,000.
There is an 8 a.m. shotgun start for amateurs and a 1:15 p.m. start time for the top 20 professionals. The awards ceremony is set for after the tournament, at approximately 6:30 p.m. at the clubhouse.
Pro shop makeover
The Moccasin Creek pro shop got a slight face lift this year.
The pro shop was rearranged during the winter. Moccasin Creek golf pro Dean Zahn said the pro shop got new carpet and they decided to rearrange the pro shop when the new carpet was being put in.
"It was something that I wanted to do for quite a while," he said.
The main counter used to be on the north side of the pro shop and now it is on south side, in front of Zahn's office window.
"We realized the counter on this side creates a little bit better traffic flow," Zahn said. "Overall, it gives the shop a better look and members come in and they look at us. We face them more instead of having to turn our back on them a lot."
While the pro shop makeover was the only major change during the offseason, the course is always going through improvements, Zahn said. Some improvements are just more visual than others -- such as the pro shop rearrangement.
Langford golfer/referee
Dave Planteen of Langford is playing in his second Moccasin Creek pro-am this weekend.
Planteen, a basketball and football referee during the high school sports season, said there are some similarities between golfing and officiating a game -- such as mental toughness.
"You have to be thick-skinned," Planteen said. "If you miss a golf shot, on the next one, you have to forget about it. (If) you miss a call and you know it, you just have to forget about it and move on."
Planteen, who has golfed for 20 years, has also played in pro-ams at Britton and Groton. He is enjoying his time playing at the Moccasin Creek pro-am again this year.
"It is a beautiful course and everything," Planteen said. "Also watching the pros, just the way they hit the ball and they can make their shots. It is just fun."
New sponsor
The Moccasin Creek pro-am received a new presenting sponsor this season.
Steve Pelzl of Twin City Roofing Company has been a patron sponsor of the pro-am for 15 years. This year, he went up to a presenting sponsor.
"He has pretty much been a sponsor of the event since we started 22 years ago," Zahn said. "He was always at our patron level and he upped it this year to the presenting level to become one of our major sponsors, which is really nice. We are happy to have him do that."
Pelzl also sponsors the C.C. Lee golf tournament at the Lee Park Golf Course and local bowling events. Pelzl always plays in the Moccasin Creek pro-am as well.
Across the nation
Twenty-two states are represented this year's Moccasin Creek Pro-Am and two countries are represented as well.
South Dakota has the most players with 130 golfers -- including 81 golfers from Aberdeen. The other states range from as close as North Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota to as far away as California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
There are also a pair of golfers from Australia (Tim Frazer and Ben Pisani) and a golfer from Canada (Andrew Funk).
|PROFESSIONALS|
134--Kevin Stanek
135--Matthew Smith
137--Jordan Elsen
140--Brandon Crick, Nick Delio
141--Jay Myers, Kevin Starr, Tim Frazer
142--Doug Quinones
143--Christopher Evans, Jonathon Carlson, Ryan Lenahan
144--Kelly Kretz
145--Dustin Wigington, Jeff Burton, Paul Peterson, Peter Lansburgh, Tom Carlson, Trevor Blair
146--Austin Miller, Ben Pisani, Casey Pyne, Jamie Estrada
147--Jeff Berkshire, Jon Beaver, Kevin Gillick, Travis Slaathaug, Tyler Gann
148--Shane Feist
149--Michael Vance, Michael Wuertz, R. Scott Pugh, Tyler Monda
150--Kyle Warren, Neil Frederickson, Riley O'Neill, Ryan Nielson
151--Jon Sauer, Matthew Moxness
152--Andrew Funk, Patrick Strandemo
153--Travis Davis, Travis Stockholm
154--Sam Jandel
155--Aaron Kilian-Smith, Sean Jones
157--Taylor Stamp
158--Coy Breen
163--Lucas Reuter
174--Josh Porter
|TODAY'S PRO PAIRINGS|
Tee No. 1: J. Carlson, Evans, Lenahan, 1:15 p.m.; Frazer, Starr, Quinnoes, 1:25 p.m.; Delio, Crick, Myers, 1:35 p.m.; Stanek, Smith, Elsen, 1:45 p.m.
Tee No. 10: Kretz, Wigington, 1:15 p.m.; T. Carlson, Lansburgh, Blair, 1:25 p.m.; Peterson, Burton, Pyne, 1:35 p.m.; Pisani, Estrada, Miller, 1:45 p.m.
|SENIOR DIVISION|
144--Lon Gellhaus
146--Robert Rohl
149--Ken Jacobson, Ken Sinner
151--Don Siers
152--Ray Larson
154--Brian Prunty, Craig Jorgensen, Jan Gilchrist, Ken Wolff, Scott Johnston
157--Dennis Bale, Gene Sipe
159--Bruce Cutler, Tom Brown
167--Greg Saunders
171--John Bruce
|AMATEURS|
|Gross Scores|
143--Jeff Stockert
144--Mike Sipe
146--Austin Hieb
147--Chris Knight
148--Chris Dohrer, Brad Pinkman, Steve Brown, Steve Pelzl
149--Andrew Welk
151--Brian Jorgensen, Steve Onkka
152--Sanjay Mukerji, Max Pfeiffer
153--Jon Sorensen
|Net Scores|
137--Jeff Stockert, Jon Sorensen
139--Charlie Jakober, Dennis Kindt
140--Jim Patterson, Trent Traphagen
141--Kent Delaney
142--Sanjay Mukerji
143--Jim Stephenson, Chris Knight, Eric Schmidt
|FIRST FLIGHT|
137--Jeff Stockert
143--Chris Knight
144--Brad Pinkman, Mike Sipe, Steve Brown
147--Steve Onkka
148--Austin Hieb, Chris Dohrer, Jack Hieb
149--Andrew Welk, Roger Legge
150--Steve Pelzl, Tom Bruckner
151--Brian Jorgensen, Ryan Hardy
152--Tyler Zahn
158--Kent Wirebaugh, Roger Nolan
159--Brian Prisbe, Nick Sipe
161--Heath Rylance
|SECOND FLIGHT|
142--Sanjay Mukerji
144--Max Pfeiffer, Pat Preston
145--Mark Jorgensen, Stuart Quam
147--Ron Stotz
148--Nick Golz
149--Eric Hurley
150--J.R. Johnson
151--Bob Lind, Duncan Murdy, Nathan Golz
152--Connor Preston, Jeff Orthaus
154--Brian Pfeiffer, Jason Welk, Steve Pfeiffer, Trent Kramer
155--Rick Biegler
160--Brandon Sipe
162--Darrin Larson
166--Jason Stone
168--Eric Payne
|THIRD FLIGHT|
137--Jon Sorensen
145--Dave Rice, Jason Golz
146--Dale Stark, Joe Cesario, Rob VanLaecken
149--Colette Quam, Steve Beare, Tim Purintun
150--Jason Branaugh, Michael Burgard
151--Bob Hilgemann, Kurt Petersen, Tyler Sperry
152--Brad Seaman, Dustin Ochsner, Mike Brown, Tim Bergstrom, Trevor Hieb
153--Corey Clausen
157--Chris Smith
161--Todd Freimark
162--Chuck Bensen, Jim Lind
|FOURTH FLIGHT|
140--Jim Patterson, Trent Traphagen
141--Kent Delaney
143--Jim Stephenson
148--Scott Isaak
149--Jerry Peterson
150--Dustin Sinner
152--Michael Hagen, R. Lee Ginsbach
153--Eric Larson, Grant Smalley
154--Ryan Karst
156--Eldon Swingler, Eric Comstock
157--Chad Orthaus
158--Don Berger, Drake Patterson
162--Shane Plant
163--Jeff Christenson
|FIFTH FLIGHT|
143--Eric Schmidt
146--Mike Lynde
147--Glenn Hanson, Ryan Mohr
148--Danny Griffin, Dirk Swanson, Jim Sumption, Mark Adam, Randee Bender
149--Tom Brzezinski
150--Jim Wright
152--Joe Fischer, Terry Cormier
153--Dave Blando
154--Mic Daggett
156--Pat Rohl
159--Scott Christenson
161--Greg Fischbach
172--Bryon Itterman, Jerry Ray Johnson
|SIXTH FLIGHT|
139--Charlie Jakober, Dennis Kindt
144--Dave Planteen
145--Cody Goulding
146--Anthony Schwab
147--Roger Christenson
149--Heath Johnson
152--Jeremy Bakeberg
154--Tom Munger
156--D.B. Garber, Jerry Feist
163--Steve Streier
165--Kurt Weisbeck, Michael Johnson
189--Spencer Aberle
|TEAM RESULTS|
1, Max Pfeiffer, Chris Knight, Jon Sorenson, -31, $200.
2. Jim Patterson, Heath Rylance, Sanjay Mukerji, -27, $175.
3. Ron VanLaecken, Dustin Sinner, Eric Schmidt, -25, $150.
4. Nathan Golz, Nick Golz, Jason Golz, -24, $125.
5. Jeff Stockert, Chris Dohrer, Joe Cesario, -23, $100.
6. Mark Adam, Mike Lynde, Dennis Kindt, -20, $90.
7. Jim Sumption, Jeremy Bakeberg, Trent Traphagen, -19, $80.
8. Dave Rice, Bob Hilgemann, Ken Sinner, -18, $70.
9. Brad Pinkman, Rick Biegler, Bob Lind, -16, $65.
10. Anthony Schwab, Trent Kramer, Tom Bruckner, -15, $60.
11. (tie) Heath Johnson, Randee Bender, Scott Isaak, -14; Jim Lind, George Dell, Brent Dell, -14; Kent Wirebaugh, Dale Stark, Joe Fischer, -14; Mark Jorgensen, Brian Jorgensen, Craig Jorgensen, -14, $47.50.
15. Steve Beare, Dave Blando, Dirk Swanson, -13, $35.00.
16. (tie) Kurt Peteson, Michael Burgard, Steve Onkka, -12; Jack Hieb, Austin Hieb, Trevor Hieb, -12; Steve Pelzl, Dan Siers, Pat Preston, -12; Todd Friemark, Jerry Peterson, Jeff Orthaus, -12, $7.50.
20. Pat Rohl, Robert Rohl, Dennis Bale, -11.
21. (tie) Jerry Feist, Eric Hurley, David Oliver, -10; Charlie Jakober, Ryan Hardy, Terry Cormier, -10.
23. Mic Daggett, Ryan Karst, Eric Payne, -9.
24. (tie) Steve Pfeiffer, Brian Pfeiffer, Roger Legge, -8; Tom Brzezinski, Jim Wright, Danny Griffin, -8; Steve Streier, J.R. Johnson, Michael Hagen, -8; Matt Brust, Jim Stephenson, Tom Stephenson, -8; Jason Welk, Andrew Welk, Shane Plant, -8; Mike Brown, Steve Brown, Tom Brown, -8.
30. (tie) Mike Carrels, Corey Clausen, Brian Prisbe, -7; Duncan Murdy, Jim Koehler, Roger Nolan, -7; Tim Bergstrom, Ken Wolff, Stuart Quam, -7; Cody Goulding, Connor Preston, Tyler Zahn, -7; Ron Stotz, R. Lee Ginsbach, Brian Prunty, -7.
35. Jeff Christenson, Dustin Ochsner, Kent Delaney, -6.
36. DB Garber, Darrin Larson, Grant Smalley, -5.
37. (tie) Tom Munger, Glenn Hanson, Chad Orthaus, -4; Roger Christensen, Dave Planteen, Tim Purintun, -4; Tom Tobin, Chuck Bensen, Colette Quam, -4; Bruce Cutler, Bryon Itterman, Lon Gellhaus, -4.
41. (tie) Ken Jacobson, Scott Johnston, Greg Saunders, -3; Mike Sipe, Gene Sipe, Chris Smith, -3.
43. Ray Larson, Jan Gilchrist, Jason Branaugh, -2.
44. Drake Patterson, Jerry Ray Johnson, Tyler Sperry, Even.
45. (tie) Brandon Sipe, Nick Sipe, Jason Stone, +7; Chad Lang, Mark Malchow, Greg Neely, +7.
47. Brad Seaman, Ryan Mohr, Greg Fischbach, +8.
48. Eric Larson, Kurt Weisbeck, Eldon Swingler, +13.
49. John Bruce, Don Berger, Scott Christensen, +14.
50. Eric Comstock, Michael Johnson, Spencer Aberle, +25.
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