Iowa’s Steven Ihm won the 60th annual Sunnehanna Amateur Golf Tournament this past weekend in Johnston, Pa. The senior to be carded a 67 (3 under) on Sunday, completing an 8-under 272 performance over the four-day tournament.
Ihm’s victory at the Sunnehanna Country Club puts his name on a list of previous winners that includes Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Lucas Glover, Scott Verplank, and Ben Crenshaw.
Ihm topped runner-up Cory Whitsett, a senior to be at the University of Alabama, by 2 strokes. The rest of the field didn’t come within 5 strokes of Ihm.
The Peosta, Iowa, native began his tournament with an opening-round 67. A second-round 71 was a small hiccup before Ihm closed the weekend with a third-round 68 and a 3-under final to finish at 8 under.
The tournament victory came on the heels of a first team All-Big Ten season, where Ihm delivered the third best stroke average —72.3 — in Iowa men’s golf program history. Ihm provided Iowa with the lowest individual finish in seven of nine events this past spring and became the first Hawkeye to win back-to-back tournaments since 1970.
Ihm led Iowa to a team championship in an 18-team field at the Boilermaker Invitational on April 20-21 in West Lafayette, Ind., a third-place showing at the Big Ten golf championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-straight season.
Ihm will compete in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic on a sponsor’s exemption July 8-14. The event is held at the Tournament Players Club Deere Run in Silvia, Ill.